From Our President

Cooperation can be political. Collaboration can be a form of protest.
Cohesion, an act of defiance.
That is perhaps a radical statement from the president of the Pender Post Society, an organization dedicated to both fostering cooperation and avoiding divisive discourse.
Our charter has contained the phrase “promote and maintain harmonious relations” since it was written nearly 60 years ago. Yes, we publish reports from some of our government representatives — from our member of Parliament in Ottawa to our local trustees — of which Pender will elect a new roster next month. (See details on our all‑candidates forum on page 6.)
But there is a difference between governance and politics, and that difference has never been starker. Governance is about cooperating; politics about slinging the stuff found in diapers.
As the latter gets louder and more prevalent, adhering to the former gets harder and more important.
As the world winds its way through rough seas, I am happy to be in the Southern Gulf Islands, where cooperation, collaboration and cohesion are de rigueur.
Work gets done because one hand is comfortable reaching out to another. We can rely on the experience and expertise of our neighbours.
We can trust, even if we disagree, discussions will be respectful and focused on finding a positive outcome.
Last month, I sat with a group of such people considering the fate of the Old Schoolhouse, the current home of the Nu‑to‑Yu, which will soon be emptied and in search of new uses.
What should that use be? How can we use that site in the best interest of the entire community?
These questions and more are on the table. And as is often the case on Pender, the answer will almost certainly involve a collection of interested parties, a combined effort and a cohesion of interests
Shortly after that discussion, I was invited to a conversation about a potential housing solution, and another on collaborative funding for local projects and charities – both unrelated to the Schoolhouse talk, but with a similar cooperative spirit.
Teamwork is best, after all, when dodging dirty diapers.

Matthew Coutts
president@penderpost.org
penderpost.org

Cover Story

The September cover art is courtesy of Joanne Enns, a frequent contributor to The Pender Post. Joanne also submitted the annual report from the Coleman Rogers Memorial Bursary Fund this month, and her photography is frequently featured in our Pictured on Pender series. This photo, entitled Morning at Bricky Bay, was taken in August 2026. Check out this month’s Places of Pender for more on this landmark location.

Matthew Coutts, Managing Editor

 

Announcements

Congrats, Jack: SFU Wins World Pipe Band Championships

Congratulations to Pender’s own Jack Martin and the rest of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band for winning the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

SFU was named the winner of the Grade 1 – Overall at the world championships, considered the pinnacle of the piping world. This is the first time in 16 years that a team based outside of the UK has earned top honours.

“It has been a long time coming. We certainly knew we played really well and we were hoping to get a strong finish, pipe major Alan Bevans told SFU News. “To actually win is stunning and a pretty huge achievement.”

SFU placed first among bands competing from around the world on August 15. More than 200 bands from 14 different countries played across all categories. Sixteen judges scored each band on four performances over two days in mid-August.

Martin has played with the Pender Highlanders since early 2025. He was a member of the Robert Malcolm Memorial Grade 3 Pipe Band, which placed second at the World Pipe Band Championships that year.

All of Pender Island congratulates you, Jack.

The Pender Post

Local Election All-Candidates Forum on Oct. 3

With a set of local elections right around the corner, The Pender Post Society is enthusiastically preparing to host its traditional all-candidates public meeting on October 3.

BC’s General Local Election, held every four years, is set for October 17, with nominations being accepted in early September. Municipal governments across the province will select their new leadership, and the Southern Gulf Islands are no different.

Pender Islanders will choose a CRD Electoral Area Director (Southern Gulf Islands), a District School Trustee (SD64), and four Islands Trust trustees – two for each of North and South Pender Island.

Nominations for the above positions will be accepted between September 1 and 11. Mail-in voting is possible if you register in advance, and early voting days will be held on October 7 and 14. See the CRD’s Announcement on page 9 for more details.

The Pender Post’s All-Candidates Meeting is an opportunity to hear local nominees pitch themselves to residents and answer questions submitted by a live audience. We’ll be working with the Chamber of Commerce to host the event this year, and anticipate an engaging and informative event.

Join us in the Pender Islands School gymnasium on October 3 for discussions with candidates for CRD Area Director, school district representative, and North Pender Islands Trust representatives. South Pender representatives will meet on October 4 at Fire Hall #3. More details to follow in the next issue.

Matthew Coutts, President
The Pender Post Society
president@penderpost.org

Special Notices

Terry Fox Run 2026

Join us on Sunday, September 20 at the Community Hall for the Pender Island Terry Fox Run!

Registration: 9 am; Run Starts: 10 am

Walk, run, or cheer from the sidelines as we come together to support cancer research and celebrate Terry’s legacy.

Enjoy door prizes, music, and healthy snacks!

Volunteers are still welcome. To help out, contact Alex Harrison at terryfoxrunpender@gmail.com or call/text 250-884-5329.

Everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there!

Alex Harrison
terryfoxrunpender@gmail.com

In Appreciation

Coleman Rogers Memorial Bursary

This year the annual meeting of the committee of Coleman Rogers Memorial Bursary Fund was held at the home of Joanne Enns, Chair.

This fund has been helping Pender students for many years with bursaries for their post secondary education.  The fund is named for Bishop Coleman and Dr. Homer Rogers.

We received three applications this year and are pleased to announce we are giving three $1,000 bursaries to the following deserving students:

Marissa Shirk – who is taking her academic studies at the UBC campus of Okanagan College.

James Glover- who has applied to take Pilot training at Victoria Flying Club in Saanich.

Kaelyn Dennis- who is also taking her academic studies at the UBC campus at Okanagan College

We are proud of these students and again encourage islanders to donate their 1% at Tru Value Foods. This helps us with funding for more applicants.

Another way to donate to the bursary is to leave a bequest in a will. This is just a suggestion that would help future deserving students obtain a bursary.

Thanks again to Mike Gray for allowing our society to remain on the board at Tru Value.

Joanne Enns, Chair
Coleman Rogers Memorial Bursary Fund

Remembering

Regina Ottilie Ende (January 17th, 1948- June 22nd, 2026)

Regina was born in Helmstedt, Germany in 1948. She grew up within walking distance to the infamous Helmstedt-Marienborn border crossing, which she came to know well as she regularly visited family members living in East Germany. Her mother died when Regina was very young, and her father, who was the Helmstedt Mayor at the time, remarried shortly after. Her father passed away when she was ten, and at the age of sixteen she left the care of her stepmother and followed her beloved older sister Hannelore to British Columbia.

Regina was a quick learner, mastering English quickly and excelling in her studies as she prepared for a career in education. While completing her teaching certificate at UBC and working in a delicatessen on Robsonstrasse she met her first husband, Harald Repen. After the birth of her first son Curtis, Regina and Harald moved to rural BC for work and living opportunities. Regina’s first teaching job was in 1970, in a one room schoolhouse in Wonowon on the Alaska Highway. Without direct mentorship in this remote posting, she developed her own unique teaching style which would make her memorable to generations of students.

After a move to the burgeoning mill town of Mackenzie, Regina took a brief break from teaching to care for Curtis and her second son, Darcy. She rejoined the teaching ranks in 1978 and left her mark at Mountainview Elementary in Mackenzie, and later at Pender Island School.

Regina married her second husband, Wolfgang, on Pender Island where they would enjoy their retirement years together.

Regina was an introverted intellectual, a voracious reader, and was intensely political. She was a union organiser and representative, a passionate supporter of the early NDP (and later, the Green Party), and an advocate for the rights of BC’s indigenous peoples. Her sense of adventure and love of nature led to many forays into the BC wilderness. Her creativity resulted in hand-crafted miniatures and dollhouses, beautiful, crocheted afghans, and a hodgepodge of projects using foraged sticks, stones, and seashells among other things. She was also a great lover of animals, taking comfort in the company of many pets over the years.

Regina will be remembered fondly by her family, students, co-workers, and friends for her kindness, generosity, sense of humour, and open-minded approach to life.

Submitted by Darcy Repen

Features

Newcomers’ Notes: Wild About Whales

By Noémie Crépeau

As a kid, I was very fond of cetaceans. In my bedroom, I had a big poster showing different species organized by size. I listened to whale songs to fall asleep. I memorized whale facts.

It ran in the family. In our living room, the classic Bob Talbot picture frames popular in the 80’s adorned walls. For many summers, until I grew into a too-cool detached teenager, my parents and I traveled up the northern Quebec coast in a camper van, visiting nautical towns and villages and going whale watching. Places like Tadoussac and Mingan islands became familiar, as did water and land excursions sighting my favourite, beluga whales, and other Atlantic ocean giants like humpbacks, blue whales, grey whales, and once a narwhal. What a lucky kid!

In hindsight, it’s no surprise that after trading coasts for this one, I ended up on Pender Island, a true whale lover’s paradise! The very day we moved here from Vancouver, sitting in our new island beater truck, several orcas put on a show just outside Galiano’s Sturdies Bay. Elated, if ever there was a sign for making the right move, this had to be it.

Penderites’ love for whales, especially orcas, runs deep, and it’s embedded in the local culture. We get to see and hear porpoises, humpbacks, orcas, and the occasional fin whale. The ancient line of Southern Resident Killer Whales (aka SRKW) who hunt salmon in Pender’s waters are beloved creatures. You will see them in local art, landmarks, tourist mementos, and informational posters at popular view points. We’re on the Whale Trail.

J-Pod, K-Pod and L-Pod are known to us. Every new calf is a blessing; Pender collectively hopes it survives its first year, tipping their population over 74. As of today, two new calves have joined L-Pod this year, and time will tell if we’ve lost any family members or if we’ve reached 76.

Humpbacks are increasingly spotted around here; their population having finally rebounded from industrial whaling in the early 90s, making a big comeback in the last decade especially, and using our waters once again as feeding grounds.

The Pender community has created two main channels for spreading word of sightings: a dedicated Facebook group and a WhatsApp group. The excitement is real: when an alert goes out, one can often spot a rush of vehicles and people heading in their direction. Photos and videos are often shared with those who have missed the land-based sighting.

As a newcomer, one might fare well learning the names of places, bays and channels in their new surroundings. A pod swimming through Active Pass, then spotted at Stanley Point, swimming past Mouat Point, headed for Thieves Bay, and veering towards Boat Nook: sound like a riddle? Trust me, you’ll want to know the grid before it’s happening live. There’s no time to waste if you want to see the majestic creatures in action.

But with this love comes, in my opinion, a responsibility: better stewardship for sentient beings that have suffered immensely from human activities. Unlike the now thriving mammal-eating transient orcas, the beloved southern resident orcas were unable to recover from being captured to near-extinction, and suffer from lack of their main prey (chinook salmon), contamination from pollution (including chemicals banned decades ago), in-breeding from a small gene pool, and finally, loud marine traffic affecting their ability to hunt and communicate.

What can we do? Adopting land-based sighting instead of favouring whale watching boat excursions, supporting chinook salmon conservation, learning and following recent boating and distancing guidelines, reporting our sightings as well as advocating for Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). All actions fall onto us, the people who live here, and our visitors.

The Species At Risk Act was enacted with overwhelming support 25 years ago to prevent the extinction of critically endangered species, like our SRKW, but the federal government is now considering loosening these protections. When these species are threatened in the name of national mega projects such as those contemplated under bill C-5 being tabled this month in parliament, I believe it’s incumbent upon us as stewards of our paradise island and its waters to speak up if we disagree. The risk to the Salish Sea and the near-extinct SRKW is too great. The orcas’ final decline could happen in our lifetime. Let’s show them some real love, shall we?

Places of Pender: Red Brick Beach

By Matthew Coutts

You’re down near Hope Bay and have just a few moments to enjoy a peaceful walk along one of Pender Island’s quiet beaches? Take a stroll along Bricky Bay Beach at the foot of Coast Shale Road.

This out-of-the-way destination might just be one of the island’s most unique stretches of waterfront – a quiet cove with a rocky beach dotted with the ripe red remnants of weathered bricks.

The Coast Shale Company purchased 50 acres of North Pender in 1911 that contained a particular type of shale ideal for brickmaking, according to Pender Islands Museum Society.

According to the Pender Island Parks and Recreation Commission, which oversees the site as one of its 80-plus local parks, the Coast Shale Company manufactured bricks at this site from 1912 to 1930, staffing as many as 75 men at its peak.

The plant consisted of grinders, mixers, ovens, and kilns, with a track of rails leading into the party-underground shale pit. The factory produced as many as 300,000 bricks a day.

The company eventually shuttered the operation and the plant was demolished. But countless bricks remain scattered, mostly polished down by the tides, leaving a carpet of smooth red rocks peppered along the beach.

Enjoy the view of Mayne Island, don’t take any souvenirs when you leave, and be nice to the neighbours: there may be public access, but parking is another story.

Hummingbird Hollow B&B

Tales of a Charmed Life (2005): Hope Bay Rising

More than a dozen homes hosted tourists and visitors during the bed and breakfast heydays of the 1990s, including Doreen Ball and Chuck Harris – who ran the Hummingbird Hollow B&B from 1990 – 2015. This is the 12th installment of Doreen’s “Tales of a Charmed Life” series, published posthumously.

This year was fairly quiet on the B&B front with a few exceptions. Pender gardeners were all a flutter in September when the Garden Club hosted Vancouver Sun garden columnist Steve Whysall. Steve and his wife stayed with us. After breakfast they spent a long time talking to, feeding, and photographing the deer contingent which regularly arrived each morning.

The Gulf Islands Concerts performers who stayed with us included the McDades, the Marc Atkinson Trio, Van Django, and Robert Kortgaard and Peter Tieffenbach, who were part of an “Invitation to the Dance” collaboration with prima ballerina Veronica Tennant.

The most exciting social occasion of the year came in July when the Hope Bay Store complex reopened, two years after major reconstruction had begun. The weather cooperated as the Hope Bay Rising’s twenty-six shareholders and their partners dressed in turn-of-the-century costumes to mark the special occasion. After scouring several thrift stores, we managed to find Chuck a classic straw boater hat that had been made in Florence, Italy.

The day’s festivities included an historical skit about pioneer life in the early days of Hope Bay, musical entertainment, face painting for the kids and speeches.  Chuck and I were in charge of the lemonade but it ran out after the first hour because of the large crowd. We all had fun.

Doreen Ball

A Taste of Pender

Jo Beattie’s Apple Cake

By Thaís Beattie

There’s something about food that brings people together in a way nothing else quite can.

Growing up in Brazil, the kitchen was where my family gathered, told stories, and made memories. My parents owned a bakery, and I would wake every day to the smell of freshly baked bread. That’s why I’m excited to join The Pender Post as it brings back this beloved column.

Those early memories shaped the way I understand food today, as something woven into daily connection, celebration, and belonging. When I moved to Pender Island, I found that same spirit. Here, it shows up at potlucks, community events, and conversations about gardens. Neighbours dropping off extras from a bake, or a shared plate after a long day. The recipes that live here aren’t just instructions on a page; they’re stories.

A Taste of Pender is our way of celebrating the people who make up this community through the food they cook and love. Not polished, restaurant-style versions, but real ones. The “grandmother’s specialty” meals.

To begin, I’m so grateful to share a recipe from someone very special to me, my mother-in-law: Jo Beattie, co-founder of The Crisp Festival.

Coming to Canada at 21 on a teaching adventure, she met her beloved Greg Beattie, studied and worked across Canada. She’s been full-time on Pender since 2019; after having a cabin since 2009, Jo brings people together through music, conversation and connection. Now in its 6th year, The Crisp takes place October 2 – 4.

Below, she is sharing her apple cake recipe; a home-style treat made with everyday ingredients and shared with love.

Jo Beattie’s Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 7/8 cup sugar
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• 3 apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest or juice
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 360°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
• Beat eggs and sugar until light and pale.
• Whisk in olive oil and vanilla until smooth.
• Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing just until combined.
• Fold in 1½ apples (chopped) and lemon zest.
• Pour into prepared pan and top with remaining sliced apples.
• Bake 30–40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool, remove from pan, and dust with icing sugar.
• Serve at room temperature.
• Best enjoyed slowly, with ice cream, and someone to share it with.

Because behind every recipe, there’s a person. And behind every person, there’s a story worth sharing. If you’d enjoy sharing A Taste of Pender, reach out to  thaisbeattie@gmail.com and community@penderpost.org.

Representatives

Saanich-Gulf Islands MP

I am so grateful to everyone who organized Pender Pride on August 16. I had a blast! The performers were top notch and Pender community spirit was – as ever – inspiring.

I told a small story about the connections between islands in Canada. I would have loved to have told the story in the old days to Peter Gzowski on CBC Morningside. IT is that kind of story. I often describe myself as bi-coastal. From Cape Breton Island and loving Vancouver Island and all our southern Gulf Islands. I was visiting my brother in Margaree Cape Breton last month. The talk of the town was Tamara Deveril’s Oscar for Frankenstein.

Daughter of beloved Pender author Bill Deverill, I think of Tamara as from Pender. She recently moved to Cape Breton and is fully adopted there. So up at the Margaree Forks Volunteer Fire Department Hall, I heard that the Oscar – the actual Oscar statue had been delivered to the local post office.

It is inside the Lawrence General Store in Margaree Harbour. It is such a small community that Fletcher Lawrence actually still lets people run a tab. When my daughter was small she could go to the store and put a bottle of lemonade on my tab, walk down to the beach and I would settle up later. Imagine!

Well, in that very same little general store sat the coveted trophy, the golden man himself, waiting a week for Tamara to pick him up.

Made me feel thrilled through a near brush with fame! or at least made me love this country for all our small communities that hold together through an era of polycrises and chaos. But here we are – families on islands.

Hope you can make it to my next community meeting on Pender on September 14.

And thanks again to Lauren Ohnona and her mom Joanne for helping me with my granddaughter Lily and her needing a nap during Pride!

Elizabeth May
MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands
Elizabeth.May.C1@parl.gc.ca
elizabethmaymp.ca

Dispatches From the Constituency Office

Like nearly every birthday before, I celebrated another trip around the sun on Pender Island, surrounded by my family and the slowly changing leaves. For me, August 16 tastes bittersweet. Equal parts hope and dread; back-to-school blues and the hum of possibility, in whatever form it may take.

As I prepare to enter my final year at UBC, take the LSAT, and write my undergraduate thesis, this uneasiness is ever-present. However, I am heading into it all feeling a newfound confidence, and I have my internship in Elizabeth May’s constituency office to thank for much of that.

When I introduced myself in The Pender Post a couple months ago, I wrote about wanting to see how politics really play out day-to-day. This mission was successful. From inside the mysterious and thrilling machinery of Canadian parliamentary democracy, I can now report that these day-to-day politics involve a truly astonishing amount of…emails. Truly inbox-exploding stuff. Elizabeth is an exceptionally engaged MP, and her inbox reflects it.

Furthermore, the scope of constituent inquiries, complaints, and comments extends far beyond anything my nearly completed degree in Political Science and International Relations could possibly have prepared me for. A major part of my internship involved helping with this correspondence – researching issues, and drafting replies for review. Writing for constituents meant setting aside the urge to explain everything and include every relevant detail. Narrowing in on what the reader wanted, or needed, to know was key. How does this affect me? Who or what policies are relevant and responsible? And what can my MP realistically do?

Every “issue” arrives attached to a person, and people want to be reassured that someone is listening. At the office, we all are listening. Oftentimes there isn’t a perfect solution to offer, and figuring out how to be both honest and helpful is a skill I grew more and more confident in with practice and helpful feedback from Elizabeth and more senior team members.

I also learned how carefully constituency work separates advocacy from partisanship. Drafting correspondence meant communicating Elizabeth’s positions while keeping the focus on the issue and steering clear of partisan politics. As someone who loves an (overly) spirited political debate, this lesson was probably good for me.

My communication skills were tested in some less predictable ways too. At one point this summer, I answered the front-desk phone and learned that the person on the other end was calling me from jail. First thought? This is above my pay grade. Second? Well, there wasn’t time for that. I got an earful and it wasn’t productive to say the least. But I kept my cool, listened, and tried to provide helpful input where I could.

So, should international diplomacy ever involve fielding an unexpected call under unusual circumstances, I now consider myself at least marginally more prepared. United Nations, hit me up.

Adventures like this, and the summer overall confirmed that I am most drawn to the human side of politics. So much of our daily interaction with politics these days is through one spectacle after another, each somehow more grim than the last.

Constituency work operates at a scale that makes positive change feel entirely more possible. It is the most hopeful I have felt about the world in a very long time. Elizabeth’s perseverance and gusto inspire me every day. She is also not a woman known for being shy in front of a crowd and, on August 16, she got the entirety of Pender Pride singing “Happy Birthday” to me. In a rare failure to live up to my reputation as a Leo, I was mortified. Nevertheless, by the time the song wrapped up, I was laughing uncontrollably.

Surrounded by familiar faces and a community that has watched me grow up, the full-circle-ness of it all made it one of the most meaningful moments of my life thus far. Thank you for everything Pender, you da bomb.

Lauren Ohnona
Summer Intern for Elizabeth May
MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands
Elizabeth.May.C1@parl.gc.ca
elizabethmaymp.ca

Islands Trust

Strategic Priorities Survey Results

Between June 1 and July 16, 2026, the public was invited to complete a survey designed to gauge the priorities of Islands Trust Area residents ahead of Islands Trust’s annual budgeting process.

The anonymous, voluntary survey was open to any resident, property owner, or interested member of the public. As a result, the findings reflect the views of those who chose to participate and should be understood as a rich source of community input, rather than a statistically representative measure of opinion across the entire Islands Trust Area.

The survey was completed by 1,244 members of the public and had a completion rate of 99.5%. It asked respondents to comment on the priorities that matter most to them when it comes to Islands Trust’s work, and what actions they would like to see the organization take to achieve these priorities.

Overview

Respondents consistently emphasized that Islands Trust should remain focused on its legislated mandate to preserve and protect the Islands Trust Area’s unique natural environment and rural character.

Environmental protection, limiting growth, and ensuring that development remains within the ecological carrying capacity of the islands—particularly with respect to water resources, infrastructure, and biodiversity—were the most frequently raised themes.

Many respondents (60%) also stressed that affordable housing should only be supported where it is compatible with environmental protection and existing servicing capacity.

A second dominant theme was the desire for improved governance, organizational focus, and accountability. Respondents called for Islands Trust to concentrate on its core responsibilities under the Islands Trust Act, strengthen enforcement of existing bylaws and policies rather than introducing new regulations, improve transparency and decision-making, and respond more effectively to public input.

Many comments also advocated for reducing administrative costs, streamlining operations, lowering taxes, and minimizing regulatory burdens on residents and small businesses.

Other recurring themes included: protecting water resources through stronger conservation measures; improving permitting and regulatory processes; supporting local businesses and affordable housing in appropriate locations, and strengthening compliance with building, zoning, and environmental regulations.

Smaller but notable themes included: improving local infrastructure; supporting Indigenous stewardship and land return initiatives; ensuring all island communities in the Islands Trust Area are represented in Islands Trust communications; and addressing specific local concerns such as fencing, animal control, and transportation.

Overall, the survey results, including respondents’ open-ended comments, demonstrate broad agreement that Islands Trust should prioritize environmental stewardship, careful growth management, effective governance, and fiscal responsibility while focusing its resources on delivering its legislated mandate to preserve and protect.

For the full report, visit: islandstrust.bc.ca/document/what–we–heard–report–strategic–priorities–survey/

Islands Trust Communications
communications@islandstrust.bc.ca
250-405-5197

Arts and Entertainment

Ptarmigan Arts

Celebrating the Best Mosaic Festival (Yet)

 What an incredible August long weekend at Mosaic. This year marked our biggest festival yet, and it has been amazing to watch it evolve. From its beginnings at Hope Bay to finding a new home among the pines in 2024, Mosaic has grown into something really special.

Thank you to Karl Hamson for his incredible generosity in allowing us to host in such a perfect setting. This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the support, hard work, and dedication of so many people. Thank you to all our sponsors; the generosity of local businesses and organizations continues to amaze us, and we are beyond grateful.

Thank you to our amazing stage crew – Owen, Isobel, Taeven, Kieran, Rutger, and especially Colin for his outstanding sound mixing. We want to recognize our team of more than 100 volunteers who worked tirelessly to make sure the weekend ran smoothly. And finally, thank you to all our performers, food vendors, workshop leads, and artisans who brought the weekend to life. An incredibly special thank you to Mac DeMarco and The Dip for an unforgettable Sunday performance. We can’t wait to do it all again with you next year.

This past month we also hosted Camp Create for ages 6-9. Camp Create focuses on giving kids the space to express themselves creatively through art and music (and even a little theatre this year in the form of a sock puppet show). The week ended with a small showcase of the campers’ work;  parents, grandparents, and guardians gathered to listen to the songs they had written during the week, which showcased the music theory and collaboration skills Ben had taught, and check out the art show.

Ripley Stafford, Communications Director
info@ptarmiganarts.org
ptarmiganarts.org
Instagram: @ptarmiganarts
Facebook: Ptarmigan Arts

Program Listings

Band Camp Showcase

Friday, September 4, 7pm, Community Hall

Come check out what the folks in Band Camp have been working on during a week of collaboration, musical mentorship, song recording, writing and more! Entry is by donation at the door and a light concession will be available. Come out and support our local musicians in what is guaranteed to be a great performance.

PIJazz Fall Session
Tuesdays, September 8 – December 15, 6 – 8 pm, Pender School

Join PI Jazz for their Fall 2026 season. PIJazz, directed by Bryce Woollcombe, meets on Tuesdays 6-8 pm in the music room at the Pender Islands Elementary School. This season will run until December 15 and they are always looking for new members to join. Interested musicians are invited on any Tuesday to try it out before registering. This session is free, although we still ask folks to register online at ptarmiganarts.org.

Jr. and Sr. Contemporary Music Ensemble – Registration Open
September 24 – December 17, Pender Islands Elementary School Music Room

Contemporary Music Ensemble with Ben McConchie is back this September. The focus will continue to be on making music together – studying, rehearsing, song writing and performing great contemporary songs, from jazz standards and classic rock to modern pop and indie. Participants will have access to a wide variety of instruments from the Ptarmigan Arts instrument bank, including drums, guitars, basses, keyboards, and more.

No matter your ability, this is a great opportunity to learn, collaborate, and perform in a supportive and fun environment. The 2026 fall session costs $120 and is open to both returning and new students. Sponsorships are available, please reach out to info@ptarmiganarts.org. For more information on how to register or to find out which ensemble is right for you, please visit ptarmiganarts.org.

Potters Meetup
Thursday, September 24, 7 pm, Community Hall

The Potters Meetup returns this fall. This is a monthly gathering for both experienced and aspiring potters to share, learn, and talk pottery. Each month there is a new topic chosen by the group. Past meetings have included a supplies sale/exchange, a works show and tell, and a handbuilding session.

All experience levels are welcome. Potters wishing to participate should arrive with a surface to work on, clay, and some basic tools. However, folks are also welcome to come just to learn and chat as well. Folks who have questions or want to get on the Meetup Mailing List (to hear about upcoming events and stay in the loop) are welcome to send messages to mudwarebyadrienne@gmail.com.

Fall Crawl Studio Tour
September 26 and 27, 11 am – 4 pm, Artist Studios across Pender

Join us as we journey across Pender, stopping by local creative spaces on the 9th annual Fall Crawl Studio Tour. The tour is completely free and self-guided. Pick up your Fall Crawl map at Talisman Books or download it online starting September 14. Get the signatures from eight artists to complete the Fall Crawl Passport and enter to win a gift basket of local goodies.

Pender Island Short Film Festival – Submissions Open
Saturday, November 14, 2026, Community Hall

Submissions are open for the Pender Island Short Film Festival happening November 14. If you have created a film or have a captivating idea, this could be your chance to showcase your work.

Send in your films to be a part of the PISFF, highlighting filmmakers from the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, the mainland and beyond. Yes, we take submissions worldwide.

Our festival provides an outlet for short-form narratives of all genres, from documentary to animation. The event features a meet-and-greet, and is one of the most anticipated gatherings of the year. Submissions are open until October 14, and must be less than 15 minutes in length. No AI generated work will be accepted.

Send in your films or any direct questions to penderfilmfest@gmail.com. We can’t wait to see your stories on screen.

Spirit of the Sixties Singalong – A Ukrainian Fundraiser

Saturday, October 10, 2 pm, Community Hall

Come together for the Singalong, Spirit of the Sixties, a fundraiser for women and children in Ukraine.

Sing along to original 60s anthems – from a tumultuous time of love, peace and protest – songs that remain classics today.

Accompanied by lyrics displayed on the big screen upstairs at the Community Hall. Light snacks and refreshments will be available when the doors open and during intermission. Join emcees Chris McDowell and Mo Simpson for an uplifting ‘love fest’. Ticket pricing is on a sliding scale, starting at $20. You choose what you’d like to pay. The ultimate goal is to raise $1,000 to directly support the Democracy Development Centre, a women-led NGO providing critical on-the-ground aid in Ukraine. Tickets are available online, at Talisman Books, and at the door.

Singing for Fun, Singing for Joy

Thursdays from 3:30 – 4:30 pm (October 15 to December 3, 2026), Fireside Room, Anglican Church Hall

Join Mary Reher for a fall session of Singing for Fun, Singing for Joy. This program is for both novice/reticent singers, and those more experienced who love to sing. All ages and abilities are welcome! Rather than working toward a performance, our aim is to have an enjoyable music experience within a small group, and to build confidence in our voices and musicianship. Singing is every person’s birthright. If you are unsure as to whether you’d like to join or not, there will be a free introductory class on Monday, October 5 from 1 – 2 pm at the Community Hall.

This is a good chance for newcomers to try out the program, and will give former participants a chance to warm up and re-connect. The program costs $80 for the eight week session, subsidies are available for caregivers and those in financial need.

The Bills – A Stoney Pocket Presentation

Friday, October 23, 7 pm, Community Hall

Ptarmigan Arts is excited to sponsor a special concert at the Community Hall with The Bills. With two previous JUNO nominations and multiple Western Canadian Music Awards under their belts, expect the musical magic you’ve come to love from this extraordinary quintet. Now in their 28th year, The Bills are renowned for their instrumental virtuosity, lush vocal arrangements, evocative songwriting, and a refreshing sound that transcends musical boundaries and defies simple categorization.

Strings, bellows, keys, voices, skin and bows – these are the vehicles for The Bills’ unique sonic approach. With individual band members sporting world-class credentials in folk/roots, jazz, classical and world music, The Bills truly are a Canadian acoustic music super-group, and their combined creative studio talent and explosive live shows have made them legendary folk/roots entertainers.

Whether spinning on your recorded playlist, entertaining an intimate theatre audience or rocking a festival crowd of 10,000, these five gifted multi-instrumentalists are masters at somehow leaving listeners breathless and revitalized all at once. Tickets are $30 in advance online and at Talisman Books and $35 at the door. Youth ages 16 and under are free.

Weekly Community Gatherings

Fridays, 12 – 1 pm, Community Hall

On Sept 4, Benedict Beattie will be sharing original tunes written to satisfy the soul. Razor Point (Herb Keim and family) is a family trio blending folk, blues, and rock – built on vocal harmonies, older favourites, and a love of playing together – they’ll be playing together on September 11. On September 18, join us to hear from Bill Heintz, who will be playing iconic songs written throughout the decades. Closing out the month is penderite Ralph Keefer, who will be playing September 25.

Join us for live music and fresh soup. This long-standing community program is a partnership between the Community Hall, Ptarmigan Arts and the SGI Neighbourhood House.

All tickets and program registrations are available at ptarmiganarts.org. For assistance, please contact info@ptarmiganarts.org. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at @ptarmiganartsbc and Ptarmigan Arts.

PIJazz

As I write this the island is gearing up for the Fall Fair, and that’s a sure sign that we need to start thinking about cozier seasons and rebooting our fall activities. For us that means planning to get together at the school stage every Tuesday at 6 pm to groove away the shortening days. We have really been striking a fun balance these past seasons: we’re taking on great musical challenges and having more than a few laughs. The summer break has been nice, but we can feel the call of the Jazz.

Registration is through Ptarmigan Arts (ptarmiganarts.org) and there is no registration fee for the fall session. Ptarmigan handles many things for us, so donations to them are highly encouraged.

Come join us on Tuesdays from 6 and 8 pm between September 8 and December 15, on the school stage.

We’re always open to new members as we start our Fall season: You know who you are! Give us a holler at brycewoollcombe@gmail.com with any questions. Keep up-to-date at www.ptarmiganarts.org/programs. We hope to see you soon.

Musical Musings: You Rock

Yep, that’s the whole TLDR. You, the folks of Pender and beyond who engage with community arts, are pretty astounding. Who else could have Mosaic Festival, the comedy series, and the market all on the same day, and all full to the gunwales. And not just those! Performance season just simmers along, and the support from you keeps it working.

OK, it’s not just you. We attract loads of folks from off-island, but that couldn’t happen without the hospitality and services Penderites provide. None of this works without the folks stocking the grocery store, the servers, the Parks folks, the drivers moving people and needful stuff.

And the organizers and volunteers. Oh my. Having booked shows, it’s a tonne of work and totally terrifying. Build it and they will come? Nope. Takes a lot of work, some luck, and perhaps divine intervention. Yet so many folks here have committed to this strange psychological torture tour.

I organize loads of things through the winter, but in the summers I like to put my brain in a jar and be a dad, a fan, and kind of a bum for a couple months. I don’t think I’ve ever needed it more than this year, and the gratitude I have for everyone who made it possible is immeasurable.

So, thank you.

Bryce Woollcombe, BMus, MCFSM
Music Director, PIJazz

Pender Island Art Society

Pender Island Art Society (PIAS) will resume its monthly activities in September. We begin with our Annual General Meeting for members on Thursday, September 10 at 1 pm, in the Community Hall lounge.

Our first art session is on Thursday, September 24, 1 – 4 pm, at the Community Hall. We will focus on painting landscapes/seascapes with acrylic or watercolour paints. We will circulate more descriptive information to our members in September.

Our members tend to have an individual preference for a painting medium. Conventional mediums are watercolours, acrylics, and oils. We take our paint supplies for granted but the history of these mediums is fascinating. An example is that the use of watercolour paints dates back to prehistoric times where earth, charcoal, and powdered minerals were mixed with water and used to paint on cave walls. In ancient Egypt, artists used water-soluble pigments to write and illustrate on papyrus scrolls. Monks used watercolours to create illuminated religious manuscripts. From the 15th Century on, artists used watercolours for nature and landscape painting and to do preliminary sketches before painting in oil.

There are so many possibilities for art mediums and we will endeavor to provide sessions that allow us to expand our skills and our repertoire over the course of the next 10 months.

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”

• Leonardo da Vinci

Laura Vilness
penderislandart@gmail.com
penderislandart.com

Solstice Theatre Society

Thank you to all those Penderites who attended our booth at the Fall Fair, it was a roaring success and we appreciate your continued support and encouragement.

Solstice Theatre is diligently working on the upcoming production of our next play, The Calling, written by our own Ethan Smith.  The Calling is a bittersweet story of baseball player Randall Griffin as he chases his dreams. This three-act play is set in both Ontario and BC. Our play will open in the fall and we’ll be announcing dates soon.

We are always on the hunt for new talent both on stage and back stage at Solstice so feel free to contact us at pendersolstice@gmail.com.

Sean Clazie
pendersolstice@gmail.com
solsticetheatresociety.org

Pender Island Community Choir Society

Calling All Singers and Would-be Singers

The Pender Island Choir is planning a very exciting fall season. Under the visionary direction of Bev Barradell, and accompanied by masterful Eileen Deros, we will be presenting a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, interspersed with carefully chosen arrangements of classic and contemporary seasonal music. We will be donating a portion of ticket sales to a local charity, yet to be determined.

If you like to sing, join us. If you don’t read music, no worries. We offer support in the form of recorded parts and mini lessons in rudimentary music reading. Bev Barradell, with her decades of experience, knows how to help singers develop their vocal skills, and will help new singers find the right section (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass) for their voice. Performing together will be an exhilarating experience. There is nothing like harmonizing with a group of people!

Registration and the first rehearsal will be on September 9 in the band room/stage at the school. Registration will be from 5 to 5:30 pm, followed by an information/getting-to-know-you period, and rehearsal will be from 6 to 8 pm.

Regular rehearsals will take place every Wednesday at the school from 6 to 8 pm. Our concert dates will be on the weekend of December 11-13.

If you have travel plans in the fall, it’s still possible to join us, as you’ll be able to catch up when you return. The recordings will help.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Anne Mullins, Chair
penderchoir@gmail.com
Rehearsals: Wednesdays, 6-8 pm, Pender School

The Pender Highlanders

On August 15, eleven band members took the early ferry to Mayne to participate in the Mayne Island Fall Fair. We led the parade (this year celebrating 100 years,1926 – 2026) from the top of the hill on Fernhill Road down to Miners’ Bay. Another set was performed in the fairground later.

Many Mayne Islanders commented how much they appreciate the Highlanders coming over to perform at their annual event. As a bonus, the 2026 weather was perfect, sunny but mild (something to be considered when wearing wool socks and kilts!).

One of our members, Jack Martin, missed the trip to Mayne as he was away in Scotland with the SFU Pipe Band, where in Glasgow, on the same day as the fair, they won the World Pipe Band Championship! On this occasion Jack was not performing, just helping, but our congratulations to them all for a wonderful performance.

We also had fun at the end of August performing for a home crowd at our Pender Fall Fair. After the short parade from Firehall #1, we performed a set at the Community Hall to welcome all fair visitors as they entered through the gate. We are always happy to help celebrate community events.

Our next performance will be on the morning of Sunday, September 20, at the Terry Fox Run, which commences at the Community Hall, where we will pipe the runners off to a great start.

Looking ahead to October, we are practising more Celtic music for our performance at The Crisp Festival on Saturday October 3.

Veronica Cross
veronicae4608@gmail.com

Pender Island Concert Society

This month is your last chance to purchase a 2027/28 Season Subscription for the low price of $90 before it goes up to $100 on October 1. We have a truly incredible set of concerts lined up for you, and if you haven’t attended one before, we hope you’ll consider joining our community of music lovers this year. You’ll find our subscription form on page 3 with the details of all four concerts.

While you can also purchase single tickets to each concert, a subscription gets you four tickets for the price of three, and they can be applied to any combination of concerts. For example, a couple could use a subscription to attend two concerts together, or four friends could use a subscription to attend one concert as a group. Subscriptions are only available to purchase until the first concert on November 24, and you can decide later which concerts you’ll use them for.

We do encourage you to join us for the entire season when possible, because the series as a whole is a curated experience meant to take you on an artistic journey. This season begins with one of the most common western classical forms, the string quartet, before moving through familiar and unfamiliar sounds of several different places and cultures, all performed by highly talented Canadian musicians.

Our first guest is the Penderecki String Quartet, a spectacularly skilled ensemble that originated in Poland and is now based in Ontario, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. In January, we’ll have a solo concert by pianist and storyteller Sarah Hagen, featuring classical music written by women.

Thanks to the efforts of Eileen Deros and the Pender Island Choral Society, and generously supported by a grant from the Nu-To-Yu, the Community Hall’s piano recently underwent substantial repairs. We’re grateful that local and visiting pianists will now have a better instrument to work with, and are excited to hear its new and improved sound in the extremely skilled hands of Sarah Hagen.

In March we’ll present Morgan Toney, a Mi’kmaq fiddler from the East Coast who brings together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq. In April, you’ll have the chance to hear Farhad Khosravi, an Iranian-Canadian santur player (that’s a Persian dulcimer, a hammered string instrument). Farhad will perform original compositions rooted in Iranian classical music, accompanied by a percussionist.

Now, those of you with keen eyes may have spotted the problem we’ve been embroiled in for weeks: that the Penderecki String Quartet’s concert falls within the Otter Bay Terminal closure. Unfortunately, we had booked this concert long before the new closure dates were announced, and the quartet is unable to reschedule. But after much discussion, they’ve agreed to go ahead with the concert and are confident that they can manage with the water taxi.

Would you like to support our work? We’re looking for one or more donors to underwrite each of our concerts by covering a portion of the artist’s fees. Due to the rising cost of living and travel, artists’ fees have gone up considerably over the past few years, and it’s become increasingly difficult to find performers within our budget. Financial support from our community allows us to continue bringing top quality musicians to our little island.

Donors can choose to be acknowledged or remain anonymous, and thanks to the kind assistance of Ptarmigan Arts, donations of $500+ are now eligible for tax receipts. Please send us an email if you’re interested in supporting any of this season’s concerts.

Ben Litzcke, Chair
penderislandconcertsociety@gmail.com

Community

Royal Canadian Legion

Canada has been very lucky over the last 214 years that they have never been invaded or personally threatened by another nation. However, whenever allies around the world have needed our assistance to quell the narcissistic tendencies of invading despots, Canada has always been one of the first to step up and do the right thing on behalf of the world.

This was so in the Boer War, 1st & 2nd World Wars, Korea and peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and the Middle East. In truth, our involvement in some of these wars was superficial at best, with the outcomes and benefits to Canada still debatable many years later. The important part of our involvement was in showing a unified front by the West, that the bullies of the world must be held responsible for their persecution of lesser nations and their political & religious beliefs. This is what the United Nations organization was made for and, over the years, the UN played an important part in doing just that.

However, over the years superpowers such as Russia, China and North Korea have put themselves above the control of the UN. In so doing, they have made the UN a shadow of its former self. If you are a minor player in the hierarchy, we will enforce the rules; if you have any bite at all, you can do what you want with total impunity

Now America, once the bastion of freedom that acted as a deterrent against the dictators of the world, has itself become a place where the rules of law may be dismissed if they do not fit the needs of one man – where power is the only goal and humanity is considered a weakness.

In 1812, the USA invaded Canada and we handed them a resounding defeat. Now we face a different kind of war with our former greatest ally – not with muskets and bayonets, but a war of words and threats of financial hardship.

As I write this, the final word on 50% tariffs has not been decided. Whatever the outcome may be, I believe it is important that we all stick together and continue to be the nation that most of the world looks to for inspiration during these difficult times – doing the morally right thing will always pay off in the end.

Bullies will get their way though if you do not have the courage to stand up against them. There may be hardships to be suffered along the way, but they are nothing compared to the horrors of a World War that our ancestors experienced and died for so long ago.  Not so long ago, I hope, that we are willing to now roll over and admit defeat, because it is the easy way out!

— And that’s my say on the subject.

(Views expressed here may not necessarily be those of the Royal Canadian Legion. But should be.)

In other news, congratulations to Pender Island’s own Jack Martin and the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, for winning the 2026 World Pipe Band Championship in Glasgow, Scotland. Some 211 bands from 14 countries took part –and Canada came out on top!

A non-UK band hasn’t won this competition since 2010. As well as being a member of the SFU Band, Jack is an integral part of the Pender Highlanders Pipe Band and a Legion member who has performed as a soloist at numerous Pender Island memorials and is lining up to help honour Jim Swanson at his memorial on September 26.

Thanks, Jack, for being a fine example of a young man who wants to give back to his community.

Weekly, we have our Meat Draws every Saturday at 4 pm and two more BBQs in September before we have a break in October. So, join us on the patio on the 11th with Second Chance (Pete Emery and Frank Scanlan) entertaining, and then Maya Cook on the 25th.

Our annual Pig & Lamb BBQ is on Sunday, September 6, with Willy Blizzard performing – at the time of writing there are only a few tickets left, so hopefully you have got yours. It’s always a good time.

A reminder that this month’s general meeting will be a bit earlier, Saturday, September 19 at 2 pm, due to Jim Swanson’s memorial on the 26th and our first Bingo of the season will be on Oct 10th – put it on your calendar!

It’s hard to believe that another summer has almost come and gone – and soon it will be Christmas Day. A bit depressing, isn’t it?

John Pender, President
branch239.rcl@gmail.com
www.penderislandrcl239.com
Next meeting: Sept. 19, 2 pm, Legion

Community Hall

Summer has been very busy at the Community Hall. We ran five children’s camps and three youth leadership camps, worked with the SGI Neighbourhood House to offer seven youth nights, and managed to get a great deal of much-needed maintenance work done. We are very grateful to Canada Summer Jobs for helping make this possible through funding for six summer staff, and, of course, to the young people whose energy, enthusiasm, and hard work made it all happen.

We have some exciting news for families with children from kindergarten to age 12. This fall, we are expanding our Friday programming to include morning children’s workshops in circus arts, gift crafting, theatre arts, fine arts, and nature discoveries. Hall Heroes and Friday Kids Club will also continue, and for families looking for a full day of programming, Breakfast Club will be available before the morning workshops.

In partnership with the SGI Neighbourhood House, we also hope to continue youth nights throughout the school year. These programs have become an important opportunity for young people to connect, learn new skills, and simply spend time together. If you are interested in volunteering to bring them an activity or know of potential funding sources, sponsors, or community partners who would like to help us keep these programs going, we would love to hear from you.

We are also very grateful to the Pender Legion for providing campership funds that helped ensure every child could participate in our summer programs. Thank you to Dave Schissler for building so many useful cabinets for our children’s activity supplies, to Peter Murphy for taking the time to train our summer youth maintenance staff in plumbing, and to Doreen Ball for remembering the Hall and supporting us so generously.

Job Openings

Paid Youth Internship – ages 12 to 17

These positions are open to students 12 -17 years old. This skill building program allows participants to earn while they learn. Interns can build up skills in areas such as café management, event assistance, activityleadership (including the Friday Kids Camp), or basic building maintenance and office assistance.  Interns receive an honorarium (like a wage) starting at $5/hour and can earn up to $500 per year.

Significant training and ongoing support will be offered as needed and by request. Hours are adaptable to accommodate school and life but are typically 6 – 8 hours per month. The deadline to submit your resume is August 29 at 1 pm.

For more information go to: penderislands.org/opportunities/youth-opportunities.

Children’s Programs

Register at http://www.penderislands.org/registrations

This fall, Fridays at the Community Hall are getting a little bigger. We are introducing a series of five children’s workshops running from September through June, alongside our returning Hall Heroes and Friday Kids Club programs. Families can choose the activities that work for them, or combine Breakfast Club, the morning workshop, and Kids Club for a full day of programming.

Breakfast Club

Fridays 9 – 10 am or 9:30 – 10 am, Kindergarten – age 12

Start the day with breakfast, friends, and free play! Children can enjoy breakfast (typically cereal, with occasional hot breakfasts), board games, self-directed crafts, and a relaxed start to the day before the morning activities begin. Registration required.

Children’s Workshops

Fridays 10 am – 1 pm, Kindergarten – age 12

Each session features a fun, creative theme with hands-on activities and new discoveries with specialist leaders

Youth Leadership Program participants are welcome to join as volunteers. Registration required. Subsidies available.

September – October: Circus Arts

Join Maya and friends for a playful introduction to the world of circus arts! Participants will have the chance to explore tumbling, tightrope, clowning, juggling and other fun circus crafts while building confidence, coordination and creativity.

Classes run Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 9, 23 and 30. Five sessions, $150

November – December: Gift Crafting

Get creative and learn how to make amazing one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family, or make special creations to sell at the Yuletide Market!

Classes run Nov. 6, 20, 27, Dec. 4, 18. Five sessions,$150

January – February: Theatre Arts

Step into the spotlight and discover the fun of theatre. Participants will explore characters, storytelling, movement, improvisation and performance through games and creative activities.

Classes run Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29, Feb 5, 12, 26. Seven sessions, $210

March – April: Fine Arts

Explore your creativity through drawing, painting and other hands-on art activities. Participants will experiment with different materials, techniques, colours and textures while developing their own ideas and artistic style.

Classes run Mar. 12, Apr. 9, 16, 23, 30. Five sessions, $150

May – June: Nature Discoveries

Discover the amazing natural world around us. Explore the forests, fields and shoreline and learn about local plants, animals and ecosystems while developing curiosity, environmental awareness and a deeper connection to the natural world.

Classes run May 7, 21, Jun. 11, 18. Four sessions, $120

Kids Club – starting September 18

Kindergarten – age 12, Fridays 1 – 4 pm

Every week brings a mix of hands-on fun, from creative projects and tasty treats to games and outdoor adventures. Youth Leadership Program participants welcome to join as volunteers. Registration required.

Youth Leadership Programs

Register at penderislands.org/registrations

Hall Heroes

Ages 9+ years, Fridays 10 am – 1:30 pm

Guided by Hall Leaders, each week is a new adventure: help in the café, serve lunch, make decorations, share a skill, mentor a younger person, help lead an activity… Mature and enthusiastic younger heroes, ages 7 – 8, might be able to be matched 1-1 with an older mentor; check to see if we have capacity. Registration required. Free.

Youth Nights

Ages 13 -18, Day and time to be confirmed once school starts

A welcoming space to hang out, try new things, and meet people. Each night will be a little different, but will include things like cooking, art, games, music, crafts, outdoor activities and special guests – nothing needed, just bring yourself and a friend if you like. Food is provided. Ages 13 – 18 (11+ with a 50-hour Youth Leadership Certificate or similar).

Day and time will be confirmed once school starts. Register through our website to receive updates and information about the first night.

Youth Culinary Skills

Ages 13 -18, Day and time to be confirmed once school starts

Get together to make a meal for the community; participants gain hands-on kitchen skills, work as a team in a supportive, fun environment. Bring an apron, a snack be provided. This program is run in partnership with the SGI Neighbourhood House. Registration is required but weekly attendance isn’t necessary. Ages 13 – 18 (10+ if child has a Food Safe Certificate or 50-hour Youth Leadership Certificate).

Youth Leadership Program

Ages 12 – 18 (10+ if child has a 50-hour Youth Leadership Certificate or similar)

The Youth Leadership Program gives young people opportunities to gain real-world experience while contributing to the community. Each week there are opportunities to help with children’s programs, host the café, assist at special events, support activities, work with younger children, and take on leadership responsibilities. Youth can choose activities that match their interests and gradually take on more responsibility as they gain experience.

General Activities

Friday Fun

Fridays 11 – 11:30 am-ish

Join a fun activity led by the Youth Leadership Program. Everyone is welcome to this all-ages activity.

September 4 – Kids Clothing Exchange

September 11 – Board Games

September 18 – Make Blackberry Soda Syrup

September 25 – Make a Tape Pencil Case

Café Français

September 16 & 30, 1:30 – 3 pm

Practice your intermediate or higher conversational French skills in a relaxed, friendly setting. Join us for an initial meetup to discuss future meeting times.  Come for conversation, connection, and fun.

Carpet Bowling

Wednesdays 1:30 – 3:30 pm

Australian rules Carpet Bowling offers mild to moderate exercise, a bit of friendly competition and great fun.  No special clothing is needed except clean flat soled shoes.  Recommended drop in is $2.

Harvest and Yuletide Market Registration

Harvest Market will run each Saturday from October 17 – November 7 from 10 am – 1 pm. The Yuletide Market will run each Saturday from November 14 – December 19 from 10 am – 2 pm.  Registration for both will open on our website by late September.

Films

Matinee: Shook

Monday, September 21, 1 pm

An intimate Canadian coming-of-age comedy-drama follows Ashish, a young aspiring writer from Scarborough as he navigates career setbacks, family challenges, first love, and his father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Blending humor, heart, and authenticity, Shook offers a moving portrait of family, identity, and finding your place in the world. 1 hour, 55 minutes.

Film: How to Train your Dragon

Wednesday, September 30, 7:15 pm

On the rugged isle of Berk, a Viking boy named Hiccup defies centuries of tradition by befriending a dragon named Toothless. However, when an ancient threat emerges that endangers both species, Hiccup’s friendship with Toothless becomes the key to forging a new future. Together, they must navigate the delicate path toward peace, soaring beyond the boundaries of their worlds and redefining what it means to be a hero and a leader. 2 hours, 5 minutes.

Volunteers

Volunteers are at the heart of many of the programs and activities offered at the Hall. Whether you have an hour a week or can help just once a month, there are ways to contribute. We are always on the look out for people to help with films, in the comfort center, office support, as activity leaders and Youth Leadership Program mentors, cleaning helpers and so many more areas. All training is provided. If you are interested in helping somehow or need more information, please email or stop by for a conversation.

This month we are highlighting the volunteer role of: Guest Activity Leader.

Would you like to share a fun activity? At the Friday Fun activity we are looking for people who would like to lead 20-40 minute all ages activities (most are generally child participants) with themes around crafting, food, heritage, STEM or other activities.

To contact us, email bookings@penderislands.org or call 250-629-3669.

Andrea Mills, Hall Coordinator
George Fowlie, Board Chair
bookings@penderislands.org
penderislands.org
250-629-3669

Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Connections

As summer winds down on Pender, the rhythm of island life begins to change. Throughout the summer, the Chamber has been busy helping connect visitors with local businesses, services and experiences, just one of the ways we support our island economy. Now our attention is turning toward fall, with plenty happening in Pender’s business community over the coming months.

A big thank you goes to our summer Pender Island Ambassador, Ashley Gulewicz, who has headed to Calgary for school. Ashley was a wonderful addition to the Chamber team, helping us welcome and assist visitors while showcasing Pender businesses and everything our island has to offer. We wish her all the best with her studies ahead.

We’ve also been celebrating businesses and organizations that make a difference in our community. Nominations for the Pender Island Business Excellence Award closed at the end of August, and this year’s recipient will be recognized during Small Business Week in October. Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate a business or organization doing great things on Pender. If you missed it, be sure to follow the Chamber on social media for the latest updates.

Fall also brings local government elections. On October 17, Pender residents will vote for the people who will represent us as North and South Pender Islands Trust trustees, Southern Gulf Islands CRD Electoral Area Director and School Board Trustee. These representatives make decisions that affect many aspects of island life, including our businesses and local economy, so we encourage everyone to learn about the candidates and, most importantly, vote. The Pender Post will once again organize an All-Candidates Forum, with the Chamber helping out. Watch for details about the forum as election day approaches.

Plans are also underway for our next Chamber Business Mixer. A team of volunteers is busy pulling the details together, and we’ll share the date and location as soon as they’re confirmed.

And looking a little further ahead, mark November 20-24 on your calendar for Celebrate Pender.

With the Otter Bay ferry terminal scheduled to close for upgrades during those five days, getting on and off the island will be more complicated than usual. Rather than simply focusing on the inconvenience, we’re turning it into an opportunity to support the local business community.

Celebrate Pender will encourage islanders to shop local, eat local and rediscover some of the businesses and experiences we have right here on the island. We’re inviting local businesses to start thinking now about how they might participate. Maybe it’s a special offer or menu, an event, workshop, demonstration, package, sale or experience. Or maybe it’s something completely different. Get creative! More details will be coming soon.

From showcasing local businesses to welcoming visitors, to celebrating business excellence, bringing people together and encouraging informed participation in our community, the Chamber’s work ultimately comes back to the same goal: supporting Pender businesses and a vibrant island economy.

Sandra Tretick, Executive Director
info@penderislandchamber.com
penderislandchamber.com

Pender Island Public Library

New Memory Kits for Adults

In response to requests from the community, and to meet the goals of our own Accessibility Committee, we are pleased to launch new Memory Kits for Adults now available for borrowing. These kits support adults living with memory loss or cognitive issues and can be a resource for families and home caregivers on Pender Island. Our kits contain tactile objects, nostalgic memorabilia, books, games, and cognitive activities designed to stimulate the mind, encourage reminiscing, and support individuals experiencing memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease. A heartfelt thank you to a generous local library supporter who donated the funding for these kits.

Art in the Library

Searching for “Authenticity”, by Joe Kashi, photographer. Why do some photographs and other visual images linger in memory, continuing to engage us and resonate emotionally, while others fade away? What differentiates simple documentation from a work of artistic merit? The artist invites you to view a selection of photographs that speak to him, and which have been selected for various juried shows and curated exhibits.

Photographs are untitled, to avoid implicitly suggesting personal reactions. On Exhibit September to October 2026.

Kids’ Summer Reading Club

Thank you to all the kids and families that participated in our fantastic 2026 BC Kids Summer Reading Club with the theme “Under the Sea!”. We had a record-breaking number of 56 kids sign-up, the highest ever. Congrats to all our young readers, who borrowed hundreds of books and received stickers and prizes. Don’t forget to pick up your special reading medal and certificate to celebrate a successful summer of reading.

On Display

September’s book display theme supports the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, both observed on September 30. Our display is dedicated to honouring Residential School Survivors, their families, and communities, and to recognize the lasting impacts of Canada’s Residential School system.

These commemorations provide an opportunity to deepen your own understanding of the intergenerational effects of residential schools and to reflect on their enduring legacy as part of the ongoing journey toward truth, healing, and reconciliation.

New Books

Adult Fiction:

John of John (Douglas Stuart), All My Dead Cats (S.E. Smith), Inferno (Conn Iggulden), Wild Beneath (Kelly Anderson), You’ll be Sorry (Lisa Gardner), Asha in her Garden (Anita Rau Badami), Beginning Middle End (Valeria Luiselli), Everything That is Beautiful (Louise Nealon), Fishbone Cinderella (Elizabeth Lim), Bubble, Bubble, Tea & Trouble (Vicki Delany), Every Version of You (Natalie Messier)

Adult Non-Fiction:

How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown Up (Julian Shapiro-Barnum), Plant Teachings from My Auntie (Geraldine Manson), Mindful Making De-stress with 35 Creative Craft Projects (Clare Youngs), The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything (Kathryn Jezer-Morton).

Youth & Teens:

Coast Salish Tales New Beginnings (Andrea Fritz), Female Indigenous Heroes (Katrina Phillips), Meet Grogu (DK Super Readers), What’s on Your Mind? (Todd Parr), Dinosaurs to Dragons (Elizabeth Shreeve), Tied Together (Brigid Au).

Library hours: Open Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 am-3 pm, at 4407 Bedwell Harbour Road. Email: libraryhelpdesk@crd.bc.ca or call 250-629-3722. The library will be closed on Saturday, September 5, 2026, in lieu of the Labour Day holiday.

Carmen Oleskevich, Library Director
libraryhelpdesk@crd.bc.ca
sgicl.bc.libraries.coop
250-629-3722

Nu-to-Yu Thrift Store

This summer, the Nu-to-Yu was happy to contribute to the success of the following Pender Island students in the form of a bursary award: Maraika McConchie, who will be going to Langara College; Noah Rae going to Okanagan College, Kelowna Campus and Marissa Shirk going to UBC Okanagan. Congratulations to all of this year’s graduates.

We have an Instagram page. Follow us at @thenutoyou. If you don’t use Instagram, you can also view all of our videos on YouTube. Just search Nu-to-Yu and you’ll easily find our channel.

How is our new building coming along, you ask? A quick drive by our building site will let you know that our walls are up and the building is coming along very nicely. We have a video tour of the construction site on our Instagram and YouTube pages (see above).

For the new Nu-to-Yu store, Phoenix West Construction is looking for trades people for the following project openings:

• Insulation
• Drywall
• Painting
• Flooring
• Finishing carpentry
• Commercial door installation
• Cabinet installation.

For more project info, contact Davis at 250-436-1981, or phoenixwestconstruction@gmail.com.

If you drive by the building site you’ll also notice signs on the fence referring to those who have made big contributions towards construction and our partners including Tru Value Foods, who continue to support us through the Spirit Board (we’re #33).

Our cornerstone supporters are on the blue signs including Davie Rae who donated the land our store sits on, Robert Friesen who got the ball rolling with proceeds from the sale of his house some 11 years ago and Margaret Coates whose mother was a long time Nu to Yu volunteer. In her memory, Margaret donated a substantial sum of money to our project.

Over the next few months, we’ll be highlighting our supporters. Any contributions to the new building fund big or small can be made through e-transfers to nutoyudonate@gmail.com.

Thanks to all who came out and supported Farmer’s Institute Student Bursary Raffle at the Fall Fair on August 29. Because of the many donations from local businesses and artists, we once again had a raffle table worth visiting and buying tickets for.

Nu-to-Yu is our community thrift store. We raise money to give back to the community. Your donations are what keeps our store stocked with great items. We accept your washed, unbroken and store-ready donations on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9 am and 12 pm, and also on Saturdays between 11 am and 2 pm. We welcome goods in store-ready condition.

For a full list of what we cannot accept, please refer to our website.

Josephine Spaxman
nutoyupender@gmail.com
nu–to–yu.com

Pender Roadshow

 

 

 

 

Can you name a poet who lived in Victoria, Cowichan, and Duncan, and who played alongside Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne in the movie The Spoilers in 1942?

This same individual also had four other movies made based on his writings. He was a correspondent for the Toronto Star in the Balkan wars and an ambulance driver in the First War.  He also has both a street and a school in Lancieux Brittany named after him. Wait for it….

At the corner of Fort St. and Government St. in Victoria is a popular pub, The Bard & Banker. The first business at that location in 1885 was the Bank of British Columbia which, a few short years later in 1901, became the Canadian Bank of Commerce.

In the employ of the bank just two years later in 1903, was a Mr. Robert Service.

Service had come to Canada from Scotland and traveled west to Vancouver island in search of work. He found work in Cowichan Bay as a store clerk. He traveled south to The States working odd jobs before making his way back to Victoria and landing a job at the Canadian Bank of Commerce.

Although the Klondike and Yukon gold rush had finished a few years prior, many of the businesses that once supplied miners chasing their dream still operated in the area around the bank. In fact, just two blocks toward the water on Wharf St. was the Customs House where prospectors would line up to get their Yukon gold mining permits.

The very same prospectors who traveled up the street to do their banking. The stories told by customers most certainly must have intrigued Robert Service, a teller at the time.

Service was promoted to the banks branch in Kamloops and then shortly after to their Whitehorse branch.  It was during his time in Whitehorse that the editor of the Whitehorse Star encouraged Service to write and recite a poem for an upcoming church concert.

While walking past a saloon one night and hearing the revelry on his way home, he described how it became the inspiration for The Shooting of Dan McGrew. In the days that followed, Service heard an old miner talk about a friend who cremated his pal and this became the inspiration for the The Cremation of Sam McGee.

Service wrote enough of a collection of poems and verses during his time in Whitehorse to create a small book. With a bit of money saved up he sent the collection to his father who lived in Toronto requesting he get them printed so he could give the book as a gift to his friends in Whitehorse. His father instead went to the publisher William Briggs who loved the collection and offered Service his first publishing contract.

The book was an instant success with multiple editions printed in short order. His next book, Songs of a Sourdough was also a huge success and Service soon acquired publishers in England and the U.S.

In 1908, after three years at the bank in Whitehorse, the bank transferred him to their branch in Dawson City.  During his time there while listening to the many tales of the miners, he wrote the Ballads of A Cheechako, a small book that arrived recently at the Nu-to-Yu.

In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, it was not uncommon to find books published in a very small format. Bibles, novels, travel guides could all be found in a format known to bibliophiles as the duodecimo.   Service, a man often referred to as the Canadian Kipling (even though he was born in Scotland and died in France), had this first edition published in 1909 by William Briggs Toronto and this copy is a scarce red softcover.

There is a bit of fading and wear on the cover of this 117-year-old book. There are pencil marks on a few pages, a chip or two out of the spine, and the gold edges on the pages show some wear but the pages and binding are all intact.

Robert Service very early in his writing career became known for his ability to articulate life in the north, primarily the Yukon. The success of his first few books allowed Service to quit the bank with his newfound wealth. He moved to France, got married, had two children, and continued writing. Should you travel to Dawson City, you can still visit the modest cabin where he wrote so many of his verses. Should you travel to Cowichan Bay, you can visit the small memorial dedicated to him.

Don’t get out that often?  Well, you can watch four other movies based on or written by Service such as Clancy of the Mounted, Shooting of Dan McGrew, Trail of 98, and Poisoned Paradise.  Don’t underestimate those bank tellers, and remember sometimes Service workers have huge potential.

Thank you to our donors.

Sean Clazie – C.P.P.A.O.

Pender Island Recycling Society

Thank you to everyone who participated, visited or volunteered at this year’s Pender Island Fall Fair. It’s always exciting to see an event of this scale organized by community members. Hopefully you were able to visit the fairgrounds and see the impressive displays of locally grown food, home baking, crafts, and animals.

With food security becoming more of an issue, it’s important that we support the local farm economy and look for alternatives to imported food. The recycling depot staff were on site, helping fairgoers sort their waste with the goal of sending as little as possible to the landfill.

The Recycling Society is also now working with our local Repair Café, which is part of the Monday Activity Day collaboration between the Pender Islands Health Care Centre and the Southern Gulf Islands Neighbourhood House. The Repair Café offers several services aimed at prolonging the life of things you already own: small appliance repairs, tech help for computers and electronic devices, help with sewing repairs, and darning/mending of knit garments.

Repair is an important part of the circular economy, often prolonging the life of items by years. This reduces the overall carbon footprint of the original purchase, and avoids the environmental impacts of buying a new item, and disposing or recycling of the broken item. The repair café takes place at the Community Hall on the second and fourth Monday of the month from 10 am – 12 pm. Stop by to chat with one of the knowledgeable volunteers and enter the monthly draw to win a gift card from a local business. This is just one of many activities and services offered as part of the Monday Activity Day.

Join me on Monday September 28, in the Community Hall café, from 10 am – 12 pm for a workshop on Sashiko stitching. Sashiko is a traditional Japanese form of simple straight stitching which is ideal for repairing garments.

Together we will explore this mindful practice and create a decorative patch to take home. I’ll also have examples of visible mending on clothing, and tips on how to use Sashiko stitching to repair your own clothes. Visible mending is a great, low risk introduction to clothing repair, where perfection is not required.

All materials and supplies are provided. Clothing waste is a huge contributor to our landfill volume, and just like with your household items, by repairing clothing you are lowering its carbon footprint and preventing unnecessary waste.

Laura Begley
laura@penderislandrecycling.com
penderislandrecycling.com
250-629-6962

Pender Radio

Otter Bay Arts and Media Society

We’ve had quite a summer over at Pender Radio’s Airstream studio.

Since launching in mid-May, we’ve rebounded from some early technical missteps, resolved merchandise shortages caused by shipping issues and “world events”, and survived an always-sunny season filled with the stable of distractions that descend on this island each summer.

We’ve also hosted our first remote live broadcast (at the Walk for Wellness), we’ve sold out of merchandise thanks to high demand, and we’ve also celebrated an always-sunny summer season filled with the stable of spectacles this island hosts each summer.

Would readers of The Pender Post be surprised to learn that the people who commit their time to running a community radio station are the same people who commit their time to running a world-class community music festival like Mosaic?

The Venn diagram isn’t a perfect circle but it’s dang close.

My peak 2026 summer memory will be wandering through the Pines Behind the Hall and seeing Pender Radio cohorts involved in every facet of the weekend.

Team Airstream was behind the scenes and in the audience. They were solving technical problems and working at booths and volunteering as security at the beer garden. They were playing music on the stage and doing improvised crowd work with excited kids. They were the excited kids.

Our listenership continues to grow, and I haven’t left my home all summer without seeing someone wearing a Pender Radio t-shirt. But that community presence – that almost-a-circle Venn diagram – is what really makes me believe we’re building something special.

While we’re volunteer-driven and ad-free radio, we do have bills to pay. So we’re looking for some local businesses interested in sponsoring shows or segments of our broadcast schedule.

If you haven’t had a chance to tune in, September will be a great time to start. We’ll be rolling out a more robust daytime lineup of local shows, so check the website for the most up-to-date schedule.

We’ve also introduced show archives, giving listeners who missed hearing their favourite show live catch it on replay at their convenience. Visit the show pages for easy access to their archives.

To get you caught up, here are a few recent shows that may catch your interest:

• Radio Co-Active, Aug. 10: Host Beccah Nelems and Pender Fire’s Capt. Jon Grelik talk about fire season safety, our island’s first responders, and those infamous yellow glasses.
• Off the Beaten Track, Aug. 13: Host Jo Beattie plays her way though the talent performing at this year’s The Crisp.
• The Lazy J Variety Show, Aug. 14: A conversation with Pender’s own Paul Montague, author of UFOs: A Dark Reality.
• Beats and Eats, Aug. 14: Friday morning host Steve Boudreau chats with fellow chef Pierre Delacote about Pender’s food scene.

Matthew Coutts
info@penderradio.ca

Pender Islands Museum Society

My Summer at the Museum

No one else will have had a summer like this.

Those are the words my Dad repeated whenever I mentioned apprehension about my upcoming job, particularly my fear of not knowing anyone on Pender. He was right, unsurprisingly. As it turned out, few people are fortunate enough to spend their university break working at a small museum.

My name is Lydia Jones, and this summer I worked as the Museum Assistant, a position funded by Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations.

Over the past two months, I’ve learnt many things: how to work with the public, create displays, and cope with using a nail polish base to label tiny catalogue numbers on artifacts.

What resonated most for me was watching visitors gain greater context through their connections to Pender. In response to questions or familiar last names, I’ve pulled out binders of photographs, directed people to our online timeline and database, or quickly messaged our museum president.

Every small museum transmits history to a community and its visitors. It’s a reciprocal relationship, and often a personal one.

This summer, for example, 14 descendants of the Hamilton family visited the museum and Port Browning, and improved our understanding of early Pender settlers while learning more about their ancestors. Plain on their faces – which bore a keen resemblance to the subjects of a 1912 family photograph – was what it meant to place themselves in history.

The context we live in and understand is constantly in flux. I’ve come to see how we can broaden that understanding using museums and archives, engaging with the past and the people who define it. Another case happened just recently when a descendant of an 1890s Japanese fisherman emailed us for  information. An attached naturalization certificate was signed by none other than Washington Grimmer, one of Pender’s first settlers. We hope to display a copy of this rare document soon.

Emails, letters, and donated artifacts appear almost weekly, and are a key facet of museum work, both sensitive and valuable. Small museums hold the family histories that make up a community, providing a personal context to them.

Even for those without direct connections to Pender, the museum reflects people’s everyday lives through artifacts. For the millennials who comment on the Blackberry in our phone display, “Look Sarah, we’re artifacts”, and the toddler peering through the stereoscope at an old image, “Are you also a little girl with a pet cat?”, the museum builds bridges. I am lucky to have witnessed many such moments, and grateful for the funding that allows students to pursue heritage jobs.

Thanks to Simone Marler, and the museum board members and volunteers I crossed paths with this  summer (like when I called the whole contact list, panicking about a security alarm!). And if you visited the museum this summer, thank you, too.

Lydia Jones, Museum Assistant
pendermuseum@shaw.ca
https://penderislandsmuseum.ca
250-217-0823

South Pender Historical Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

The annual South Pender “Growers and Makers Market” will take place at the Church of the Good Shepherd grounds on September 6 from 12 to 3 pm. This iconic event will showcase works from some of Pender’s top growers and makers.

What can you look forward to? North and South Pender vendors selling some of their favourite goodies and products – fresh garden produce, honey, art, jewellery, woodwork, seeds, books and other fascinating items.

A silent auction featuring wonderful items donated by the Pender community as well as art work, baskets of goodies and gift certificates from local Pender organizations, as well as 1930s framed watercolours of birds by Alan Brooks Senior. Food arranged by Pierre (come early). Crafts and games for the young and young at heart with Brenda. Music with Pat Smith, and display boards sharing some of the early history of the South Pender community. A fun event for the whole family. Come early and enjoy the ambience.

The 30th anniversary of Art Off The Fence in July was a roaring success, with 41 participating artists showcasing their work while musicians entertained the crowd. We look forward to the 31st anniversary in 2027.

Agreement has finally been reached with the CRD with the support and help of the Pender Island Parks and Recreation Commission to erect two WSÁNEĆ signs at the end of Gowlland Point Road that tell the story of their use of this special area for millennia. Now part of Brooks Point Regional Park, the area is called SQE,NÁNW̱ in their SENĆOŦEN language which translated means “place to watch the weather.”

It was an important part of their traditional territory where they came to harvest berries, seafood, collect cedar bark for rope and baskets, and cultivate the chocolate lily and camas fields located there, which are some of the most prolific in the province. We look forward to the installation of the signs this fall to share this important story.

Robert Dill, President

Moving Around Pender (MAP)

Alternative Transportation Society

Greetings from Moving Around Pender (MAP). Hope everyone had a great summer. Did you make a special trip to any MAP trails? Did you use the Car Stops at all? Pick anyone up? Always interesting conversations when you pick up a Car Stop pal.

We still have our sight lines on Einer’s Hill trail, and rest assured, it is coming. Good things take time and are often covered in red tape.

Good news, we are now able to issue tax receipts. If you are interested in donating a larger amount to MAP efforts, you can now receive a tax receipt. Anything helps and is appreciated.

Do you have any suggestions of where a good MAP trail could be beneficial? Two adjoining backyards could make way for a new path, opening up neighbourhoods and simply make living on Pender even better. Talk to your neighbours, look around. Let’s surprise ourselves and do amazing things here.

You’re always invited to our meetings. Usually the first Saturday of every month. Reach out to me if you have questions about how MAP works. What does it mean to have a MAP trial on your land? Who takes care of it? Where do we start?

As always, take care of yourself and the people around you.

Jaime MacLean, Chair
chair@movingaroundpender.ca
movingaroundpender.ca
604-505-9144

Pender Islands Lions Club

As the long, lively days of a Pender summer begin to give way to the quieter rhythms of fall, it’s a wonderful time to look back at a season filled with community and connection. Summer is always a busy time for the Pender Islands Lions, with many community events that we attend, support, sponsor, and participate in. By the time you are reading this, we’ll be easing our way into fall, but as this is being written, there are still some much-loved summer events to come.

One of the highlights of the summer was the Mosaic Festival, where the PI Lions were proud to be both a sponsor and a participating vendor. Our crew of volunteers served hot dogs, chips, and cold drinks alongside the many wonderful food offerings at the festival on the Sunday of the event, raising funds that will go right back into supporting our community. Mosaic once again brought an incredible mix of love, joy, and creativity to Pender, with music, art, food, poetry, dance, and even wood chopping! We were thrilled to help support and be part of this beloved community celebration.

By publication, a group of Lions will also have proudly participated in the Pender Island Pride Parade, joining our community in celebrating unconditional love, acceptance, and belonging.

And, of course, summer on Pender wouldn’t be complete without the Pender Island Fall Fair on August 29. Lions volunteers will once again have worked at the gates, helping welcome people to one of the biggest events of the Pender Island summer.

As September arrives and we ease into fall, our community work continues. With the start of a fresh school year, Lions volunteers will once again collaborate with Pender Islands Elementary Secondary School (PIESS) to provide free vision screening for all students, just one of the many ways we work throughout the year to support people in our community.

2027 Pender Island Phone Book

Another fall project on the horizon is the 2027 Pender Island Phone Book. Preparations for the new edition will begin soon, so watch your mailbox for information on how to review and update your contact information for the 2027 phone book, if needed

As one season gives way to the next, there are always new opportunities to connect, contribute, and make a difference on Pender. Fall can be a time to try something new, so it might just be the perfect time to join the Pender Islands Lions and get involved!

President Lisa Gedak
penderislions@gmail.com

Clubs and Social Groups

Pender Island Quilters Circle

The summer hiatus is coming to an end and the fall Quilters Circle monthly sessions will resume with our first meeting being held on Monday, September 14. There will be a variety of activities which include Show and Tell from members’ summer projects, a survey of ideas for this year’s meeting projects, and a trunk show by Eleanor Heslop (she will show and share a collection of her quilts over the years).

Eleanor is a prolific and skilled quilter so it will be a pleasure to view her work.

There is a correction to the June article. There were many “hands on deck” helping with the Hands Across the Water event that we hosted. I tried to acknowledge all of our members who helped but I neglected to mention Martha Deme’s help with food preparation in the kitchen. This was a massive undertaking so it is important to identify and thank everyone.

Several years ago I asked our members what got them into quilting. A common thread was the enjoyment of sewing. Many of us had mothers and grandmothers who sewed and were role models for us. Sewing our own clothes was much more common, even a necessity, years ago (in the last century).

Segregated practical arts courses in junior high and senior high school meant that females were forced to take Home Economics and sewing was part of the curriculum. Some of us enjoyed it and continued into adulthood. I recall my first Home Economics teacher telling us not to be heavy on the pedal of the sewing machine, we weren’t driving racing cars!

Several years ago I asked our quilters this question: “What got you into quilting?” Responses included:

• It was a year 2000 project for a niece’s wedding, she got a bird bath instead
• I love sewing and fabrics
• Hockey games . . . I don’t watch them but my husband does so I sew
• I sewed but did not like making clothes so I thought quilting would be fun because I am a mathematics type

Quilting is a fabric art that requires an eclectic assortment of skills and preferences such as visual creativity, sewing skills, visual-spatial skills, math calculations, a love of fabric and pattern, and a colour sensibility. There are so many creative possibilities. On that note we start another year of creating.

Quilter’s Philosophy

Just like the school year, September is a month of new beginnings for local organizations. For the first Quilters Circle session, it is an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and find out what they did for their summer holidays. We come to the session with organized totes of supplies and enthusiasm for new projects. It is as much about connections as it is about creative fabric art.

September Quilters Circle Session: Monday, September 14, 9:30 a.m. to noon, St. Peter’s Anglican Church Hall.

Laura Vilness
penderislandquilters@gmail.com

Pender Photo Club

After the Holidays

This is a very brief notice because we are still on holidays.  All our members enjoyed a smoky summer. We will re-commence “work” at our September meeting, on Monday, September 7, at 7 pm via Zoom. Please contact Urs for the Zoom link. Our theme is “Summer Favourites,” which leaves the door wide open for supplying photos.

Even though it is still  summer as I pen this, we are always looking for new members, so please come along and join in the fun.

Hans Tammemagi
penderphotoclub@gmail.com
Next meeting: Sept. 7, 7 pm, via Zoom

Ellen’s Group

Ellen’s Group takes a new direction

After a summer of reflection, Ellen’s Group has landed on a new direction and welcomes anyone interested in discussing and learning about how to be there for our friends and neighbours going through challenges, including loneliness, grief or facing the end of life.

The group will continue to meet on an almost monthly basis on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 2-4 pm at the Anglican Church Hall, 4703 Canal Road.  The meeting focus will be on providing support and education for existing members of the group as well as for anyone wishing to join.

Sandi Smoker, who has been the group’s Team Lead, has stepped down from that role for the time being.  Ellen’s Group thanks Sandi for her immense contributions. Going forward, leadership will be provided by a rotating group of volunteers, starting with the next meeting of the Group on Wednesday September 23, 2-4 pm. I will be leading a discussion on having supportive end-of-life discussions.  If you are interested in attending or have questions, please email linda@oglov.com.

The group is also underway with plans for a March 2027 workshop on trauma, including how it impacts people and how to respond to people who have experienced it.  More details will be provided in future articles.

‘Serving our Community with Compassion’

Ellen’s Group was created to help fill the void left by the unexpected death in 2022 of Ellen Willingham, whose long-time support of individuals and families who were struggling, isolated, grieving or facing end-of-life transitions, was highly valued in our community.

We are still open for visits with those who wish one. If you are one of those people, please contact us at ellensgroup@pendersaturnaanglican.ca.

Linda Oglov
ellensgroup@pendersaturnaanglican.ca

G’Old Network

G’Old Network events rapidly filling up for the Fall

Spaces in the G’Old Network’s three Fall activities are rapidly filling. If you are interested in any of these events, please register asap since all have limited capacity.

“How to have conversations with your loved ones about end-of-life”

Monday September 14, 1 – 2 pm. Presented by the G’Old network in partnership with the Monday Activity Day, upstairs at the Community Hall following lunch. Led by Julia Nicholls and Linda Oglov

Conversations about our own mortality, or the loss of those close to us, can be a beautiful way to connect. Julia, co-lead of Pender’s Death Cafe, and Linda, one of the founders of the G’Old Network, invite you to a supportive, low-pressure gathering. Julia and Linda will start with a brief presentation, followed by a gentle space to talk, listen, and share our experiences about aging and end-of-life. To register, please send an email to: marcella.reay@penderislandhealth.org

Indispensable Binder #2

Wednesday September 23, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Anglican Church Hall. Led by Patricia Holborn.

Back by popular demand, this workshop introduces a simple but effective resource for identifying and organizing all your important documents in one, accessible place. Pat will explain each section of the binder including: Family and Me; People in my Life; Home and Hearth; Finances; Travel Documents; Medical Stuff; Legal Agreements; On-Line Life; Unique and Optional Items.

She will suggest ways to get started and offer hints for how to get the most out of gathering the materials. The session is open to those who have not taken the workshop before, and to any former participants who want to attend again.

We are nearing capacity of 25 people for this workshop so, If you would like to participate, please register soon: email pholborn@shaw.ca or text 604-345-0260. The workshop binder costs $45. (The workshop is free). Pat will ask for your binder payment after she has registered you for the session.

Indispensable Binder Follow-up Support

Wednesday, September 30, 9 – 11:30 am, Anglican Church Hall. Led by Patricia Holborn

This follow-up session offers practical help for anyone working through their binder. Participants will share successes and challenges, learn strategies for managing time and materials and for tracking progress. Those interested in ongoing support can also explore forming peer support groups.

Wills, Power of Attorney, Representation Agreements

 Wednesday, October 21, 9:30 am -12:30 pm, Anglican Church Hall.  Led by local Notary, Tegan Tang.

Following her popular introduction at the Plan B Workshop, Tegan will provide a more detailed look at these three essential legal documents, explaining their purpose, how to prepare them, and the consequences of not having them in place. Early registration is strong, with capacity capped at 45 people. To register email support@goldnetworkonpender.ca. Please include the workshop title.

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of the G’Old Network. Our purpose is to help create and sustain an environment that supports all those who wish to grow old well and die peacefully here on Pender.

If you would like to be added to the G’Old Network email list, please send us a note to: support@goldnetworkonpender.ca.

A huge thank you to all the individuals who have donated to the G’Old Network, and to the Green Angels who recently made a significant contribution.  If you are able to donate, in any amount, to help us pay for communications and workshop expenses, please do so by following this link: https://sginh.ca/donate–now.

Please make sure you specify that your donation is for the G’Old Network. You can now also send an e-transfer to: gold@sginh.ca again indicating that your donation is for the G’Old Network.

Thank you!

Anne Kaye, Jane Morley and Linda Oglov
support@goldnetworkonpender.ca

Pender Island Garden Club

Winter Vegetable Gardening

The coastal climate here in the Gulf Islands is mostly Zone 8. We have occasional freezing weather but with protection much can be grown.

Clear out spent summer crops and weeds, then test the soil pH. Most winter vegetables thrive in slightly alkaline soil conditions, around 6.0 to 7.0. Add two to four inches of compost. Plan the layout considering each crop’s mature size and light requirements.

Keep soil warm. The soil temperature matters more than the air temperature in winter gardening. Hoop houses, south facing walls, row covers, and mulch can help to keep soil warm. Cloches are a good choice for individual plants or small groupings. They create a mini greenhouse effect. Water plants early in the day. This gives the plants time to absorb the moisture and the soil to dry out and reduce mold and mildew.

Timing is important. Plant in late summer or early fall. Use cold protection as needed. Choose cold hardy varieties meant for cool weather or overwintering.

Sow carrots, beets, radishes and turnips in mid July through August. September for garlic, onions, leeks for overwintering and early spring harvest. Late September to October works for kale, spinach, chard, collards and lettuce. Fall and early winter is the time to set up cold frames or row covers to protect crops from frost or heavy rains. In winter and early spring harvest greens, roots and onions. Use sheltered beds to start tender seeds early.

Enjoy crisp fresh vegetables in cooking and eating!

The Garden Club meeting will be September 10, 2026, 1 pm at the Community Hall.  It is a Meet and Greet for new and current members. Registration for new and returning members is $15. This is for the coming year and includes most speakers and presentations in local gardens. See you there.

Vivian Mitchell
vivmitchell@shaw.ca
Next meeting: September 10, 1 pm, Community Hall

Pender Organic Community Garden Society

The Lazy Gardener: Intentional Chaos

There’s a corner of my garden plot that grows itself. From it, I harvest spinach, cilantro, dill, and shiso. I didn’t plan this. Rather, one early spring, long before I would have considered sowing seeds, a green carpet appeared of what turned out to be spinach. This particular spinach, which I don’t remember ever planting, was of a variety called Giant Noble, whose mature leaves are bigger than my hand, but tender and sweet. It continues to produce long after most spinach has bolted beyond edibility. I do nothing to cultivate it, other than to leave a few prime specimens to go to seed each summer.

In subsequent seasons, I left a few other plants to go to seed. I did this mainly to draw pollinators to the garden. That they propagated themselves was a bonus, and I now get an annual harvest of tender herbs and greens, all without having to lift a finger.

Elsewhere in my plot, tomato volunteers pop up, descendants of previous plantings whose fruit fell to the ground. Sunflowers show up in unexpected places, as do poppies, whose origin I do not know. Calendula and nasturtiums, as gardeners grow, are prodigious self-seeders. Parsley will scatter itself throughout the garden if left to grow a second year, being that it’s a biennial that flowers in its second season. This year, I have a Russian kale growing with my cucumbers, from a seed left behind by a previous tenant of my plot, more than five years ago. My dedicated pathways through the plot are lined with volunteer mustard greens, dill, and that prolific spinach. I walk all over them. They refuse to die.

My biggest problem, if you want to call it that, is keeping these volunteers from taking over the entire garden. I don’t suppose I’m alone in being loath to pull up healthy plants, but there are vegetables I want to grow that do not self seed, and they need space. So I thank the tomato baby for its resilience (no I don’t, really, but it sounds good) and yank it up. I could transplant it, but I don’t know what variety it might be, and my quota of tomato plants are already positioned elsewhere in the garden. In the future, I may experiment with controlling which tomatoes (for example) seed themselves.

I recently discovered that this chaotic gardening is a thing. Charlie Nardozzi has authored a book called “The Continuous Vegetable Garden: Create a Perpetual Food Garden that Sows and Grows Itself.” He also has a website and some YouTube videos. Search “Self Sowing Veggies.”

Some gardeners might be concerned about crop rotation, that the same crops growing in the same space year after year might invite pests and disease. But according to Charles Dowding, the godfather of no-dig gardening, crop rotation is not an issue in a small vegetable plot; the movement of a species a few feet away is not meaningful or necessary. It is still necessary, however, to amend the soil with compost or manure every year. In the gone-wild bed, this means timing the amendments differently. I will add my compost mid-summer, before the plants have set seed, so that when the seed drops, it will fall onto fertile soil.

As a member of a community garden, it is my responsibility to keep my garden tended and productive. Surrounded by more traditional gardeners with their dug soil (I don’t dig) and neat rows, my garden appears messy, and I confess to feeling a mix of envy and guilt. But I control weeds (and I don’t get many because I keep the soil mulched), so that my style does not interfere with other’s efforts. My goal is to produce as much food as possible with as little work as I can get away with. Call me lazy!

Anne Mullins, community gardener
pocgsmembership@gmail.com

Pender Island Food Bank Society

Getting Our Ducks in a Row

As I write this, we are in the final steps of preparing for the 2026 Penducky Derby.

We are excited to bring back this Pender tradition, and it appears so are many of you. Thank you so much for supporting this Food Bank fundraiser with ticket sales. All proceeds will be used to buy food for Penderites experiencing food insecurity.

Our Food Bank is supported entirely through donations, so we really appreciate community involvement and support. Thanks so much to our organizing sponsor Dog Mermaid Eco Expeditions; to Big Dig Em for duck-dumping expertise; to the Pender Island Lions for the loan of the ducks; and to our incredible food bank volunteers who have been actively hunting you down to buy tickets. We hope to make this an annual tradition.

Food insecurity is a challenge everywhere as food and housing prices continue to skyrocket. One in four Canadians are experiencing food insecurity, and on Pender those numbers are no different. Every week, the food bank registers a few new individuals who have been struggling to make ends meet and are in need of extra support.

The Food Bank welcomes everyone who finds themselves in need of assistance. For those of you in a position to help through donations of cash or donations of food, thank you. Every little bit helps.

Fork in the Road

This month, we are continuing our ‘fork in the road’ series. This is a profile of a composite of some of the folks who visit the Food Bank. While names and specifics are made up the experience is not – this story represents some of the real people that visit our Food Bank.

“Margaret stared out at Magic Lake, her knuckles white around her morning tea. For thirty years, Pender Island had been her sanctuary. She and her late husband, Arthur, had built their lives here, volunteering at the local library and picking up fresh sourdough from Amy’s bread shed.

But old age on a Gulf Island had quietly grown prohibitively expensive. Arthur’s pension had frozen in time, while the costs of electricity, propane, and ferry travel kept rising. This morning, her hydro bill sat on the kitchen table alongside a final notice.

After settling her monthly expenses, Margaret’s bank account held exactly fourteen dollars. For weeks, she had skipped dinners, quietly telling concerned neighbours that she simply wasn’t very hungry anymore. But the persistent ache in her stomach—and the empty cupboards—overrode her fierce island pride.

On Friday morning, Margaret walked down Canal Road towards the Food Bank. Her heart hammered with anxiety and she hesitated at the door, her hand trembling on the handle. When she stepped inside, the heavy weight of shame dissolved. A volunteer she recognized from the community garden greeted her with a warm, familiar smile, gently handing her a grocery bag. Operating on a grocery-store model, the Food Bank asked no invasive questions, and no judgment was passed.

As Margaret selected fresh eggs, bread, and greens from the shelves, she realized that the community she spent a lifetime building was now cradling her back.”

If you, or someone you know is in need of food assistance, please encourage them to come see us – perhaps you can accompany them the first time to help ease their anxiety. If folks are homebound, please contact us at penderislandfoodbank@gmail.com and we will provide help.

Pam Wright, Chair
penderislandfoodbank@gmail.com

Environment and Stewardship

Pender Island Conservancy Association

A New Mural, Inspired by Elders

On August 16th, the Nature Centre hosted a joyful unveiling of a new mural created by artist Nicole Wolf. Nicole gave an inspiring artist’s talk, walking the group through the story behind the piece, which celebrates old-growth forests and community elders who are the voice of these ancient trees championing their protection. The afternoon was a genuine intersection of collaborators who care about this place.

The Conservancy invites you to visit the Nature Centre to see Nicole’s new mural. Please note that we are moving to our fall/winter hours starting on Sept 9th, of Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am – 3 pm. We’re grateful to Raincoast Conservation Foundation for the grant funding that helped make Nicole’s commission possible, and to Priya Puri of Raincoast for kicking off the day by leading a Big Tree Registry workshop at a Conservancy Nature Reserve.

Thank You, Dave: 21 Years of Eagle Watch

Some of the most important conservation work on Pender happens quietly from a forest trail or a favourite lookout, season after season, year after year. For decades, Dave Manning has been doing this work. Now, after 21 years as our Eagle Watch Coordinator, Dave is retiring from the role.

Eagle Watch monitors the nests of Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, Great Blue Herons and other species, tracking the health of these populations on and around our island over time. That kind of long-term data only exists because passionate volunteers take it on, and Dave has shown up for two decades. On behalf of the Conservancy and everyone who cares about Pender’s raptors and herons, thank you, Dave — your dedication has given us a record of this island’s wildlife that simply wouldn’t exist otherwise, and which has helped inform local protections for these species.

Dave will continue to keep an eye on a few favourite nests, and some sites already have monitors in place. But, after 21 years, it’s time to pass the torch. Generously, he’s offered to share his knowledge, maps and other materials with anyone interested in picking up where he leaves off. If you’d like to get involved with Eagle Watch, at any level, please reach out to Dave or to Pender Islands Conservancy at biologist@penderconservancy.org.

Julie Szabo
president@penderconservancy.org
penderconservancy.org

Pender Ocean Defenders (POD)

They are back! Over the past few weeks the Southern Resident Killer Whales have returned to the Salish Sea!  Members of the Southern Gulf Islands Whale Sighting Network (SGIWSN) were happy to see K Pod heading east in Boundary Pass on August 2nd.

DFO’s Whale Protection Unit was in the area, warning boaters of their presence and educating them on the new 1,000m approach distance requirement.  We thank them for the hard work that day in helping the whales travel safely!   A few days later, just as dawn was breaking, J Pod was observed travelling by Port Washington heading towards Active Pass.  And only hours later, some members of L Pod came east in Boundary Pass.  They seemed happy to be back as they tail lobbed and breached.  Both J Pod and L Pod members were seen the next day in Boundary Pass heading west, and they left the area for the coast.  On August 12th, K Pod and J Pod came inland.  The next day they passed by Pender around 3 am on their way to Active Pass.  However, only several hours later, they were spotted in Boundary Pass making their way to Haro Strait.  Their time in the Salish Sea has been brief in comparison to decades past when they would’ve spent most of the summer here.

The SGIWSN on Pender has also observed other killer whales over the past few months.  Some of the more frequent visitors from the Bigg’s Killer Whale population have been the T101s, T100s, T65 & T63 (Whidbey & Chainsaw), 49C (Nielsen) the 46Bs and most recently the T019s (Nootka, Galiano & Spouter).

POD is the sponsoring organization that supports the Pender chapter of the SGIWSN.  The network was created several years ago to document the frequency and locations of whales around the Southern Gulf Islands.  The data is then used to influence policy for the protection of whales.  The network has established strong partnerships with Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, Parks Canada, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and WSÁNEĆ Marine Guardians.  If you are interested in whale conservation and have eyes to the water around Pender, please reach out to the Pender Coordinator, Monica Petrie via email miraonpender@shaw.ca.  She would be happy to tell you more about the network and what it takes to be a sighter!  Look us up on Facebook at Pender Ocean Defenders.

Kathleen Durant
Facebook: “Pender Ocean Defenders”

SDÀ,YES Truth and Reconciliation Circle

Another momentous event at QENEN,IW̱

For the seventh year, a group of W̱SÁNEĆ youth set the SXOLE (reef net) in Bedwell harbour. The youth camped a few nights at QENENIW and joined SDA’,YES volunteers for a meal Sunday August 9 at the school.  Many thanks to the school for hosting and to those who contributed to set up and serve a fulsome potluck to nourish the reef net crew.

On the occasion of the  W̱SÁNEĆ youths’ 2026 setting of the reef net, the premiere screening of QENEN,IW̱, the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board’s new film produced by Mary Anne Paré and Kenta Kikuchi, was held at the school before the supper to celebrate the youths’ achievement. STOLȻEȽOT Adelaide Elliott, artist for the film and our newest community hall signage, journeyed over with family and friends for the debut screening. The film tells the W̱SÁNEĆ history of the place we know as Poet’s Cove. Keep an eye out for future screenings.

The audience also learned more about the W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust Society through a presentation by Laurie Henry followed by questions. We extend thanks to Laurie, and Rose Spahan who works on food sovereignty, for sharing time with us.

The next opportunity to support W̱SÁNEC at QENEN,IW̱ is October 9 at Community Days restoration event with PEPAKEN_HA’UTW. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to madelin.emery@gmail.com for details.

HISKWE HA’LE ! (thanks everyone)

Please note that the STR Circle will meet on Wednesdays: September 16 and November 18, 4:00 to 6:00 pm for the remainder of 2026 at the Anglican Parish Hall. Alternate months will continue in the new year.

All are welcome to join us.

Madelin Emery
madelin.emery@gmail.com

Pender Earth

Each month brings the reality of climate change and its effects closer to the forefront. This is especially true in Europe where, according  to the Guardian, “European farmers face unprecedented crisis after successive heatwaves” (August 17, 2026) The intense heatwaves and an increasingly severe, continent-wide drought with its ensuing water restrictions, have brought about a crop crisis with vegetable and grain growers in particular warning of “catastrophic” harvests.

Are we paying attention to this? In the Okanagan, crops are burning and farmers are unable to tend their livestock due to forest fire evacuations. This is about our own local food supply. Perhaps food shortage is what we have to experience to wake up to the urgency of the need for change.

The fossil fuel industry is subsidised by Canadian taxpayers to the tune of 10.2 billion yearly. The industry has known since the 1950s that their emissions would destabilize our climate. Profits before people is their mantra. They ensured they hooked us.  Now we struggle with an addiction to petro chemicals that could be lethal to our species….. and all the other species we share the planet with.

If these figures disturb you, come join people who speak honestly and frankly about our current trajectory. There are no easy answers but talking in supportive company does offer relief and can open up new ideas for action.

We usually meet at the Community Hall the first Friday of every month at 9:30 am at Community Hall. This month, September 4th, we’ve been offered the appealing venue of Stoney Pocket-Pondside at the Lopaticki/Hamilton home at  2200 Clam Bay road.  Just park on Clam Bay and walk on up. See you there at 9:30.

Contact us at penderearth@gmail.com if you need more information.

Kathy Cronk and Mary Anne Paré
penderearth@gmail.com

Health and Safety

Pender Island Health Care Society

Please note that the Medical Clinic and most of the Health Centre will be closed on Monday, September 7 for Labour Day, Wednesday, September 30 for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Monday, October 12 for Thanksgiving

Annual General Meeting September 24

A reminder that our AGM will occur on Thursday, September 24 at 10 am at the Legion. All members are welcome to attend. Membership forms are available online at penderislandhealth.org. At this meeting, directors are elected, and the Annual Report, financials and our updated Strategic Plan are presented.

October 17 Public Meeting – Mark Your Calendars

At least once a year, we like to share with the community what’s been happening, what’s new and what’s ahead. Last year we had a terrific turnout, as we asked for assistance in bringing the issue of provincial underfunding for primary care to the attention of the Province and Island Health.

Our concerns were heard (thanks to all your letters), and through dialogue with the ‘powers that be’ we now have some successes to share with you. We’ll have some new Directors to introduce, updates on those funding issues and how they’re being resolved, and other Health Centre news. Please plan to join us at 2 pm on Saturday, October 17 at the Community Hall, perhaps after you’ve completed your civic duty of voting in the local election.

A Word From Departing President Bruce Waygood

I am finishing a six-year term on the Board, as Treasurer for a year and President for five years. It has been an unusual and very busy time for PIHCS, including the referendum to support PIHCS with property taxes, the COVID pandemic, providing administrative services to the medical clinic, developing the Salish Sea Primary Care Network with Galiano, Mayne and Saturna, and carrying out over $1.4 million worth of renovations and equipment replacement.

All this was made possible by hard-working volunteer Board members (over 30) and dedicated staff, who have always worked more than they are paid.  Health Care Society operating finances have almost tripled in the last six years, and although progress has been made, PIHCS still needs better provincial support.  Ongoing discussions may provide news of better support soon. PIHCS has succeeded with the support of generous community donations and $500,000 of competitive grant funding from Federal sources, mostly for renovations, upgrades and replacements.

Six years ago, PIHCS developed its first Strategic Plan against a backdrop of uncertain finances and a large deferred maintenance demand.  This year’s new five-year Strategic Plan is focussed on consolidation rather than survival. There are still financial operating concerns, but there are also positive working relationships developing with both Island Health and the medical providers.  PIHCS has gone from being just the landlord and advocate, to being also the “operator” of the medical clinic, to use the terminology in Island Health’s request this year.  This will be a new chapter and a new responsibility.

PHCS has a very capable Board, and strong administration, which will continue to ensure and grow health services on Pender, with the continuing support of the community.

Speaker Series ‘Here’s To Your Good Health’

On Saturday October 24, we’re pleased to welcome Liz McCarter from Self-Management BC for a session on living your best life with chronic health conditions. Liz is the Coordinator for Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, overseeing the Self-Management and Frailty Health Coach Programs. Through training sessions and workshops, she has years of experience in empowering people to live their healthiest, most independent lives. Learn about tools to manage symptoms, hear about the latest research, and get tips on staying independent and building confidence. At the Community Hall at 2 pm.

Medical Clinic Update: Sabbatical

Dr. Bruce Rebner and Dr. Robyn Wiens will be taking a six-month sabbatical from October to April. While they are away, their practice will be covered by Dr. Sam Marriage and Dr. Adrian Cox, both of whom will be welcome additions to the medical clinic. If you are a patient of Dr. Rebner or Dr. Wiens, there is nothing that you need to do. Your care and patient coordination will be seamless and handled by our capable MOA staff and health care providers.

Naturopathy at the Health Centre

Megan Kimberley (BSc, ND) is now seeing clients by appointment. Megan has been practicing for over 25 years and is licensed by the Complementary Health Professionals of BC. She lives on Mayne Island, where she also practices, and lists her additional interests as theatre, public speaking, paddle boarding, yoga and meditation. Her website is www.drmegan.net.

Health Centre Entry – Glass Canopy Project

Observant visitors will have noticed that the glass panels over the entry have been removed. Plans are in the works to replace the glass, hopefully before the rains begin in earnest. Thanks are due to Facilities Manager Jason Wissink, the Building Committee and hard-working volunteers Dave Harrison and Art Curtis. Soon we’ll be able to look up without fear of getting hit by a raindrop or ‘gift’ from a passing bird.

Making Their Mark

This just in! We are grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of the Pender Islands Lions Club, who recently provided  funds to cover the costs of our line painting project in the parking lot. We have noticed a “marked” improvement in the use and safety for vehicles and pedestrians alike. A heartfelt thank-you to the Pender Islands Lions Club for both your historical and continued support of the health centre; since forming in the 1970’s, you do truly and consistently live up to the motto ‘We Serve’, and our whole community is better for it.

Kelly Leroux, PIHCS Communications
info@penderislandhealth.org
penderislandhealth.org

PIHCS Community Support Programs

Maintain Your Independence (MYI)
Exercise Classes
Find class descriptions, schedules, and payment details on our website penderislandhealth.org under the Community Programs tab. Register in advance or pay in person for the full session or drop-in classes. Monday and Wednesday classes take place at the Community Hall, while Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday classes are held at the Anglican Church. If cost is a concern or you need assistance with registration, please contact Marcella in the Community Support office. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Pender Island Parks and Recreation Commission for the MYI program.

Mondays
Community Hall

Strength Training for Overall Health with Stacy Packford
9:30 – 10:30 am
This class will focus on building strength in your body to improve overall health. There will be a variety of exercises for all levels designed to build strength, balance, and confidence in movement. Wear comfy clothes and bring a water bottle. Resistance bands provided.

Tuesdays
Anglican Church, Fireside Room

Moderate Yoga with Candace Aldridge
9:30 – 10:30 am
This moderately paced class teaches foundational yoga shapes, introducing breath and the ability to flow from one posture to the next.  With a focus on alignment, pranayama (awareness of breath), guided meditation, and a rooted sense of Joy and Play.  You will build strength and mobility, flexibility and balance, while gaining range of motion in your joints and spine.

Chair Yoga with Candace Aldridge
10:45 – 11:45 am
Chair Yoga offers a gentle, accessible way to ease stiffness, reduce chronic pain, and improve strength, balance, and flexibility — all from the comfort of a chair. This practice weaves together gentle stretching, strength-building, breath awareness, and moments of meditation to support both body and mind. Ideal for those with limited mobility, injuries, health conditions, or anyone who spends long hours sitting, Chair Yoga helps you reclaim confidence and vitality while fostering brain-body connection.

Essentrics with Heather Hanson
12:00 – 1:00 (Sept 8, 15, 22, 29)
A slow to medium paced full-body workout that simultaneously stretches and strengthens every muscle in the body. Essentrics reduces muscle tension, unlocks tight joints, develops lean muscle tone, and improves posture. You will leave class feeling relaxed and energized!  Bring a yoga mat.  Class is done in bare feet.

Wednesdays
Community Hall

Strength Training – Supplemental Class with Stacy Packford
9:30 – 10:30 am
This class is designed for those looking to further support and enhance their strength training. Expect a full-body workout with an emphasis on multi-joint exercises.
Come prepared to work and bring your water bottle!

Thursdays
Anglican Church, Fireside Room

Moderate Yoga with Candace Aldridge
9:30 – 10:30 am
(See Tuesdays for descriptions)

Chair Yoga with Candace Aldridge
10:45 – 11:45 am
(See Tuesdays for descriptions)

Fridays
Anglican Church, Fireside Room

Yin Yoga with Candace Aldridge
10:30 – 11:30 am
Yin yoga is a functional, floor-based practice where shapes are held for 2-5 minutes. Using props for support, we nourish joints, ligaments, bones, and fascia while settling into stillness. This stillness becomes a gateway, bringing awareness inward and anchoring us in the body. Through mindfulness, breath, and sensation, we develop interoception—the ability to turn inward, integrate, and explore our shadow. This practice expands our capacity to be fully embodied, releasing the need to do, be, or look like anyone else, embracing ourselves exactly as we are.

Monday Activity Day at the
Community Hall
See ad page __ for full schedule including lunch menus.

Weekly Activities and Exercise
MYI Classes Upstairs 9:30 – 12:00
Drop-in Café and Knitting and Stitching Circle from 10:00 – 12:00
Walk the Valley Home Trail 11:30 – 12:00

September 14
Book Club with Cee
This month’s book discussion is There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. Relax, meet new friends, join in good conversation, and discover great books together. Coffee and tea are served in the lounge.

Repair Café
All Repair Café participants can enter for a chance to win a gift certificate from a local business, supported by the Pender Island Recycling Society. Our Repair Café is run by friendly volunteers skilled in appliance repairs (Peter), tech repairs (Shon), sewing repairs (Judy), and darning repairs (Eve), all eager to share knowledge and help extend the life of everyday items. We also warmly invite new volunteers with specific fixing skills to join us regularly or as a guest volunteer and be part of the Repair Café community. More information can be found on our website under the Community Programs tab.

Decoupage-Flower Mason Jar Lanterns
Using beautiful dried flowers and simple decoupage techniques, participants will transform mason jars into charming lanterns perfect for adding warmth and natural beauty to any space. No experience is needed, and all supplies will be provided for this fun, hands-on crafting experience.

End of Life Conversations with the G’OLD Network
As we age, we can find it difficult to have conversations about dying or our wishes/thoughts leading up to dying. Julia Nichols, who co-leads Pender’s Death Café and has deep experience in this subject, will lead a short interactive presentation and discussion. Audience questions and participation is encouraged.

September 21
The Old Man and the Vultures with Dave Manning and Eroca Dancer
Dave fell in love with Vultures the minute he stumbled upon a small Turkey Vulture chick peeking out at him from its nest cave. His program is on the three Vultures of North America with his wife, Eroca, contributing musical support.

Film: Shook Showtime 1:00 PM
An intimate Canadian coming-of-age comedy-drama follows Ashish, a young aspiring writer from Scarborough as he navigates career setbacks, family challenges, first love, and his father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Blending humor, heart, and authenticity, Shook offers a moving portrait of family, identity, and finding your place in the world.

September 28
Repair Cafe
(See September 14 for description)

Sashiko Mending
Transform wear and tear into something beautiful. Explore the mindful Japanese art of Sashiko stitching as you learn practical mending techniques, create your own decorative patch, and gain the confidence to repair or embellish treasured textiles at home. All materials and supplies will be provided.

AI Awareness and Fraud Prevention Workshop
This one-hour workshop provides a clear, approachable introduction to artificial intelligence, how it is being used in scams, and practical ways to stay safe. Participants will learn how fraudsters use tools like deepfakes, voice cloning, phishing, and impersonation, along with simple steps to recognize warning signs and protect themselves and their families. The session concludes with positive, real-world examples of AI, ensuring attendees leave feeling informed, confident, and curious rather than concerned.

To sign up for any of our programs, visit penderislandhealth.org/monday–activity–day.

Marcella Reay
Community Connector
communityconnector@penderislandhealth.org
penderislandhealth.org
250-629-3346

Pender Island Fire Protection Society

Last year the Pender Island Fire Protection Society conducted a mailed-out survey of the Pender community. 600 households responded; 79.26% of respondents lived full-time on Pender.

The community survey was a two-way engagement. We wanted the community to know more about the Fire Department and the Society and to find out what people knew and thought.

The full survey results have a large quantity of interesting information in a very easy-to-read bar graph format. They were part of the community reporting presentation that PIFPS held last November. Here are a few highlights:

• The community had a strong expectation that the Fire Department would provide medical emergency first response (Q8)
• 91% of respondents thought that the level of training and number and position of firehalls and apparatus that give Pender Island its high rating with fire insurers was very important (Q9)
• People also liked the disposal of propane tanks (83.72%) and considered fire safety inspections were important (92.05%). (Q10 and Q12)
• 97% of respondents also considered our fire training facility to be a valuable attribute of Pender’s fire service. (Q14)
• 13% of respondents considered the bi-annual youth training week to be a valuable initiative. (Q15)

We have also prepared a two-page mini-report. If you haven’t already, the PIFPS Board hopes you will have an opportunity to read the results. For copies of a mini-report and the complete survey response contact: administration@penderfire.ca, 250-629-3321.

Christa Grace-Warrick, Secretary
administration@penderfire.ca

Pender Island Fire Rescue

Hello, Pender Islands. As of today, August 13, PIFR members have responded to 208 emergency calls. August continues to see catastrophic losses from wildfires ravaging the province. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by these tragic events.  Please consider donating to organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross and United Way BC to help people and communities in need.  The money donated to these organizations goes directly toward helping with these disasters, both during and after.

This month I have the privilege of Congratulating Chief Michael Dine on his retirement from Pender Fire. September 14th will be Chief Dine’s final day in office.  He will be missed, but I know he will continue to make significant contributions to the fire service by sharing his experience and knowledge with fire departments and communities in need.

Chief Dine’s experience with Pender Fire started in 1998, and his current role as Chief began in 2020, during the challenging COVID years.

Chief Dine brought a reinvigorated passion for the fire service and the care of his responders.  It was time for change, and he was leading the charge, with other fire departments across the province now following suit. From implementing a duty crew schedule for guaranteed coverage around the clock 365 days a year, fighting for the safety of our community, its residents and visitors, to continuing to conduct commercial property inspections.

He was also instrumental in creating the Southern Gulf Islands Fire/Rescue Cadet Camp, which changed the lives of countless young people in our community. The department is saying goodbye to a great leader and a great friend.  I know we will all miss his passion and experience, but even more so, the pearls of wisdom he would leave you with whenever you came to him with something you needed to talk through- fire department or life, it mattered not.  Thank you again, Chief Dine.  We all love you and wish you the best in your future endeavours.

As of writing this, the Pender Island Fire Protection Society is working hard to make a formal announcement regarding the next incoming chief for Pender Fire, and I look forward to sharing this exciting news with you next month.

September will still see open burning shut down, potentially until October 31st, depending on provincial restrictions and wildfire risk due to weather. Please see our website www.penderfire.org for the most current, up-to-date burning and work restrictions. If you do not have web access, please feel free to reach us by phone at Station One at 250-629-3321. Burning permits will still be required once open burning reopens and will be valid until December 31, 2026.

Remember to test your smoke alarms and vacuum or blow them out with compressed air to clear dust, cobwebs, and small insects that can cause nuisance alarms.

They do save lives!

Captain Jon Grelik
jgrelik@penderfire.ca
penderfire.org
250-629-3321

SGI Community

SGI Community Resource Centre

Housing NOW: This Fall, Could an Empty Room Become a Home?

As summer winds down, many people across Pender and the Southern Gulf Islands are wondering whether they can afford to remain in the communities where they work, volunteer and raise their families.

At the same time, some island homes have a spare bedroom, suite or cottage that sits unused. Opening that space isn’t right for everyone, but for some homeowners, it could provide income, companionship or help around the home—while giving someone a safe, stable place to live.

A room may seem small, but to someone searching for housing, it can mean the ability to accept a job, continue their education, care for family or remain connected to their community.

Housing stability is also connected to food security and our local economy. When rent takes too much of a household’s income, food is often one of the few expenses people can cut.

When workers can’t find affordable housing, local employers struggle to retain staff. The effects are felt across our shops, farms, health services, schools, restaurants, construction businesses and community organizations.

But this cycle can be broken: A homeowner offering a suitable room, suite or cottage at a fair rate is doing more than creating a rental. They are helping someone build stability, participate in the community and contribute their skills and energy to island life.

Home sharing can benefit homeowners too, through additional income, companionship, greater security or mutually agreed-upon household help. Finding the right match and establishing clear expectations are key.

It’s understandable to have questions about privacy, safety, compatibility and boundaries. Housing NOW works with Happipad, a Canadian home-sharing platform that supports rental relationships through matching, screening, agreements and ongoing assistance.

Home sharing isn’t a replacement for building more affordable and supportive housing. Our islands still need those investments. But making better use of housing we already have can be one practical part of the solution.

As fall approaches, we invite island homeowners to look at the space around them. Is there a bedroom, suite or cottage that could be comfortably rented? There’s no obligation to say yes. The first step may simply be learning more and considering what could work for you.

When people have secure housing, they are better able to afford nutritious food, participate in the workforce and contribute to their communities. Employers can retain workers, services remain available and our islands become more resilient.

To learn more about home sharing and available support, connect with Housing NOW through the Southern Gulf Islands Community Resource Centre.

Dining in the Dark is hitting the road!

Visit me at the Pender Island Fall Fair and pick up your very own Dining in the Dark Storm Buster Bundle, featuring:

• Dining in the Dark: Volume 1 Cookbook;
• Our new Storm Preparedness Supplement;
• A custom Dining in the Dark tea towel.

We’ll also be announcing the dates and times for our upcoming Dining in the Dark workshops, filled with practical tips and resources to help you and your household get storm-ready.

Come say hello, explore the bundle and let’s get prepared together!

Grant Writer Rebate Project – Next Intake September 1

Are you part of a non-profit organization in the Southern Gulf Islands looking to boost your funding capacity this season? The Grant Writer Rebate Project is here to help!

Registration opens Sept 1st and runs until Sept 22nd. This initiative supports local non-profits by offering financial support toward hiring a dedicated grant writer. The Southern Gulf Islands Community Resource Centre will provide a rebate that subsidizes your grant writer’s fees at a rate of $25/hr for up to a 10 hour maximum.

Spots are limited, so don’t wait—pre-register now at http://www.linktr.ee/sgisfi. Successful registrants will be contacted before October 1.

Take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen your grant applications and grow your impact!

Upcoming Workshops

AI Awareness and Fraud Prevention Workshop for Seniors with Sarah Downey

Monday, September 28, 1- 2pm: In-person at the Pender Islands Community Hall or join us

via Zoom

A free one-hour workshop for seniors on what AI is, how it’s being used to run scams, and how to stay safe.

Board Governance for Non-Profits with Mamie Hutt Temoana

Tuesday, September 29th, 1- 3pm: Zoom. Fee: By donation

When Board Directors know their role, responsibilities, tools and practices, the organization operates at a huge advantage with significant potential to grow, develop and better serve the community. Learn the basics in this workshop from Board functions and liabilities to policy and by-law development.

For more information or to register please visit – linktr.ee/sgisfi or contact us at islandsupport@sgicrc.ca

Melody Pender
execdir@sgicommunityresources.ca
sgicommunityresources.ca

SGI Neighbourhood House

SGI Neighbourhood House Welcomes New Executive Director

The Southern Gulf Islands Neighbourhood House is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Cowan as Executive Director, effective April 1, 2026.

Michael has been with the Neighbourhood House since its inception, serving as Managing Director and helping guide the organization’s growth and community impact. He holds a Master’s degree in Global Leadership and brings more than 30 years of leadership experience across the non-profit, government, and community sectors. Michael is committed to collaboration, equity, innovation, and building resilient communities across the Southern Gulf Islands.

Former Executive Director Melody Pender is transitioning to the role of Finance Director and will remain with the organization, continuing to support its financial management and future development.

The Board looks forward to Michael’s leadership as the Neighbourhood House continues strengthening connections and improving the quality of life for residents throughout the Southern Gulf Islands.

Southern Gulf Islands Community Justice Program – Come Join the Conversation

Living on the Southern Gulf Islands, we’re never far from nature. The sea, the forest, the seasons — they shape our days whether we notice it or not. But how often do we actually stop to talk about that relationship? What it means to us, how it’s changing, and what we might be losing or gaining as the world around us shifts?

This fall, the SGI Community Justice Program is continuing our monthly Zoom circles, picking up threads from our spring conversations about our relationship with the natural world.

This time we’ll be exploring how that connection shows up in our daily lives — and what it means to live it more intentionally as island communities.

Circle conversations are open, facilitated, and genuinely good. No agenda, no debate — just neighbours thinking out loud together.

Join us on Sept 16th (the third Wednesday of the month) at 7:00pm. Email CJP@SGINH.ca to get the Zoom link or learn more.

Seniors Programs: AI Awareness & Fraud Prevention for Senior with Sarah Downey

Sept. 28, 1–2 pm,  Pender Islands Community Hall or Zoom

Free workshop covering AI, scams, and how to stay safe. Please call (250) 629-3665 to register.

Join Our Board of Directors

The Southern Gulf Islands Neighbourhood House Society is seeking enthusiastic and community-minded individuals to join our Board of Directors. If you’re passionate about strengthening our communities and helping shape programs and services that make a difference across the Southern Gulf Islands, we’d love to hear from you.

Serving on the Board is a rewarding opportunity to contribute your skills, ideas, and leadership while supporting the important work of the Society.

To learn more or express your interest, please contact us at mcowan@sginh.ca

Michael Cowan
mcowan@sginh.ca
250-629-3665

Gulf Islands Food Co-op

Welcome to the cooler Fall season! We hope your gardens are loaded with veggies and fruits. This fall, the GIFC is offering some great events, all in support of local food.

Seed Saving Workshop

Sunday, September 20th, 10am – 3pm, The Pink House, 4323 Bedwell Harbour Rd

FarmFolkCityFolk (FFCF) will be bringing their Mobile Seed Cleaning equipment again to our island so that growers big and small can thresh and winnow and sort their dried plants to extract the precious seeds within. It helps to have some experts on hand, and the mechanized equipment speeds things up. These annual events are a truly lovely way to connect with other growers, discuss how your season was, get some ideas for next year, and trade seeds too!

Schedule:

10am: A workshop on how to clean “wet” seeds like tomatoes and cucumbers. Lisa from FFCF has been working with seeds on small farms for about 20 years and has given many seed saving workshops on Vancouver Island for the last five years. She also grows a seed farm at Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture.

11am: A slide show about cross pollination and other seed saving tips and tricks by Karin Campell. Karin has been saving seeds for decades and knows the specifics of growing on Pender. She has loads of experience to share.

We’ll also include tours of Roz’s garden to learn about seed harvesting, throughout the day as needed.

10 am – 3 pm: Seed cleaning equipment available for anyone to use. Please donate some of your seeds to our Seed Library.

Crisp Festival – food security is on the agenda

Saturday, October 3rd, 10 am – 3 pm, Community Hall

The Saturday of this year’s Crisp festival will include a Fermentation Workshop with Fridge of Wonders; a Kid’s Fermentation Lab with Fridge of Wonders; a Speaker Panel of farmers, advocates and the food bank to talk about food security; an Apple Pressing event with a brand-new stainless-steel press (bring your apples and pears!!); and a map for a Self-guided Tour of Julie Wilmott’s apple orchard, Twin Island cidery, Sea Star winery and Bee Wild distillery.

More details to come – watch for posters, and Facebook and Instagram posts.

Other updates

The Gulf Islands Food Co-op has been busy on the other islands this summer, with farm tours on Saturna, a Community Supported Agriculture program on Mayne, sales table on Galiano and supporting a summer student (Faye) to interview many people across our multi-island food system. She will be preparing a report of her experiences and insights into where the gaps and opportunities lie for improving our island food system.

We encourage everyone to shop at our local farmstands! See you around in the Fall.

Roz Kempe, President
info@gulfislandsfoodco-op.org

Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership

If you live on Pender Island, you know that life in the Southern Gulf Islands is a unique balancing act. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and with that beauty comes visitors. To ensure that tourism serves our community rather than strains it, the Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership (SGITP) invites all local residents to participate in its annual Residents’ Perceptions of Tourism Survey. This is not just another questionnaire, it is your direct line to shaping destination marketing, local stewardship, and community support. By taking just eight minutes to share your thoughts, you ensure that community requirements stay at the forefront of tourism planning.

In 2025, residents stepped up to share their honest perspectives in a baseline study conducted by The Sentis Group in collaboration with Destination BC. The data collected from 156 online resident surveys highlighted exactly what is working and where the tourism industry needs to do better.

On the positive side, the results proved that locals deeply recognize the tangible benefits visitors bring to our unique ecosystem. An overwhelming 83% of residents agree that tourism supports our indispensable local businesses, while 72% value the financial contribution visitors make to the local economy. Furthermore, 66% agree that tourism helps sustain a greater diversity of local amenities, which includes the facilities, services, and locations that make island life so attractive to live and work in.

Island pride also runs deep across our communities.

Gulf Island residents are 11% more likely than the average British Columbian to rank their home as a highly desirable place to visit. In fact, 90% of respondents believe the islands are an incredible destination, and 73% take genuine pride in making visitors feel welcome from diverse cultures and backgrounds. There is a profound sense of value for the region’s appeal, and most residents recognize that visitor contributions are fundamental to local business stability.

However, last year’s survey also raised major red flags that SGITP is actively working to address, which makes this year’s follow-up survey critical to tracking our progress. Seasonal sentiment reflects a clear range in how we perceive visitor capacity throughout the year. A staggering 63% of residents reported a sense of over-tourism during the summer months, creating a clear mandate for strategies that redistribute demand toward off-peak times. Interestingly, 44% believe the region is under-capacity in the winter. Meanwhile, the spring and fall shoulder seasons hit a notable equilibrium where perceptions of too few versus too many visitors differ by only a minor margin, suggesting that current visitation levels during these periods align closely with community expectations.

High summer volumes also appear to create a significant barrier to local lifestyle choices, as residents who feel deterred from visiting popular areas when they are busy significantly outnumber those who remain comfortable with the crowds. Over half of us, at 56%, actively avoid busy local spots, and our overall comfort level with crowds is 50% lower than the provincial average, showing that islanders are much more sensitive to crowding than the broader population. Additionally, last year’s respondents identified a clear shortfall in local infrastructure, with a pronounced lack of confidence regarding safety and accessibility. Locals also expressed skepticism about the sector’s current commitment to environmental sustainability and its ability to provide competitive wages and long-term professional careers, scoring 44% more skeptical than the provincial average.

Ultimately, while a majority of residents agree that the positive impacts of tourism outweigh the negative, our overall satisfaction with how tourism contributes to our quality of life is 17% lower than the provincial average. This gap highlights a significant opportunity and a vital need for better alignment with community well-being. We have a clear mandate to protect our islands, improve safety, advocate for infrastructure, and shift visitor traffic away from crowded summer weeks, but we cannot measure progress or hold the industry accountable without your input.

Keep an eye out for the 2026 Resident Survey this fall. It will be announced in our partner newsletter and shared online. If you aren’t subscribed yet, reach out to community@southerngulfislands.com to join our mailing list and stay informed.

Youth and Family

Pender Island Scouts

September means the start of another Scouting year, and we are looking forward to getting outside, getting our hands dirty, learning new skills, and getting back to plenty of adventures.

Pender Island Scouts meets every Wednesday afternoon, giving youth the chance to learn new skills, spend time outdoors, make friends, and try plenty of new things. One of the best things about Scouting is that the youth get to help decide where those adventures take them. We bring the ideas, they bring their interests, and together we figure out how to make it happen.

What’s Ahead This Year?

We have some big plans for the year ahead. One of our goals is to work toward having a campout every month. That means more time outdoors, more opportunities to practice camping skills, and a chance for Scouts to discover that whatever you decide to pack, you also get to carry.

We are also hoping to spend more time exploring some of the activities our Scouts enjoy, including:

• Scout Skills Camp, with both fall and spring camps planned, giving our Scouts plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning and outdoor challenges. Also giving parents a brief break from wondering what they are going to do with all that energy.
• Archery, with more opportunities to build skills and confidence. We are excited to be acquiring our own archery equipment, which will give us more flexibility to offer archery regularly throughout the year.
• Fishing, because learning to catch dinner is a pretty useful skill. Although we make no promises about how much dinner will actually make it home.
• Boating and paddling, building on our water safety and canoeing skills while making the most of living on an island.
• Woodworking and building, giving youth a chance to design, create, and work with their hands. There may even be projects that parents are allowed to admire without being asked to fix them.
• Kub Kar building and racing, putting creativity, construction skills, and a little friendly competition together. And yes, there will almost certainly be opinions about whose car is fastest.
• Winter camping, we are hoping to get out for a proper winter campout this year, especially after last year’s notable lack of anything resembling winter. This year, we are keeping our fingers crossed for some cold weather, maybe even a little snow, and enough winter to make the extra layers worthwhile.

And those are just the plans we have so far. Our Scouts will also have plenty of opportunities to suggest activities, try new things, and help shape what we do throughout the year. Some of the best ideas tend to come from the Scouts themselves, so we are looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

New Members Welcome!

Registration for the September 2026 to June 2027 Scouting season is now open, and we would love to welcome some new faces to the group.

We are welcoming youth in all of our sections:

• Beavers: ages 5 to 7
• Cubs: ages 8 to 10
• Scouts: ages 11 to 14

Scouting is for everyone, and we welcome both girls and boys. If your child enjoys being outdoors, trying new things, learning practical skills, exploring, building things, or having adventures with friends, Scouting could be a great fit.

We are also always looking for adults who would like to volunteer. You do not need to be an expert camper or know how to tie every knot in the Scout handbook. There are lots of ways to help, and our leadership team works together to make the program happen. If you can lend a hand, share a skill, supervise an activity, or simply have the ability to remain calm while a group of excited kids explains five different plans at once, we would love to hear from you.

Shout Out

A big thank you to our returning families, volunteers, and community supporters who help make Pender Island Scouting possible. We are excited to get another year underway and look forward to plenty of adventures, new skills, new friendships, and muddy boots.

Here’s to another great year of Pender Island Scouting.

Brie Balmer
penderislandscouts@gmail.com

Recreation and Leisure

Pender Island Golf Club

August was a busy month for the Pender Island golf club as both Men and Ladies held their Club Championships.

Winner of the Men’s Championship (Percy Corbett trophy) was 17-year-old Noah Tisdall (three-round total was 223). Low handicap winner (Elmer Bowerman trophy) was Ken Pelley, while Frank Deme won the high handicap division (Andy Arguin trophy).

For the Ladies, the winner of the low gross (Corbett trophy) was Emma Marler. The handicap division (Martin trophy) was won by Karen Legault.

The Ladies also held a three-round 9-hole version of their championship with Rosemary Clayton and Karen Watson sharing the low gross title. Janet Ellis won the handicap division.

Also, during the month, the men wrapped up their match play competitions with Frank Deme taking home the Evans Trophy and Danny Martin winning the Grimmer Trophy.

A hearty congratulations to all of the winners!

If you have been out on the course recently, you will know that the fairways can be pretty hard-baked in places. This is because we do not water them, even during the driest summer months. The Pender Golf Course uses only a fraction of the water most other courses use. We reserve our limited supplies for watering the greens and tee boxes.  All of this comes from surface capture ponds, none from our wells.

September marks the start of the end of the regular golf season, but there is still lots of golf to be played.  September 9 will see the revival, after a several year hiatus, of the JJ White Inter-island tournament, where Men and Ladies from Pender, Galiano, Salt Spring and Ardmore gather here on Pender for a friendly (hopefully!) competition. Please feel free to come along and support the Pender team.

September 23 and 24 are the dates for the Gayle Fisher Memorial tournament. This Ryder Cup-style mixed tournament is a favourite of our members and the perfect way to wind down a busy season.

Our Fall Membership Promotion begins September 15.  New members joining the club receive free golf for the rest of 2026, simply by paying the Initiation Fee.  If you only golf once a week from September 15 until the end of the year, the free golf has a value of over $500.

The Initiation Fee is $1,500 and installment plans will be available. Drop in at the golf shop or email membership@penderislandgolf.ca for further details.

Tee bookings for both members and non-members will continue online until the end of October. Go online at penderislandgolf.ca to book yours.

Happy golfing!

Ian Pirie
membership@penderislandgolf.ca
penderislandgolf.ca
250-629-6659

Pender Island Otters Swim Club

Summer has sped by, and we are now looking at the start of our fall and winter programming for the Otters.  We will restart on September 25, at Panorama Pool and this session will go through to December 11.

We have our lanes on Fridays, 10 am – 2 pm, and Head Coach Sidney and the rest of our coaching staff will welcome new and returning swimmers to another year of swimming fun and instruction. Notices will be sent out to returning members, and new swimmers can find our information and the registration link on our webpage by early/mid-September.

Coaches Marianne and Mesha will cover the Otter Pups, and part-time new coach Kaysha will help Sidney with the rest of our groups. We may have an additional part-timer come on if needed to cover away dates for our staff.

We don’t yet know the dates of the spring pool closure (for filtration maintenance), but last year it was mid-March to mid-April.  We will confirm that when winter/spring registration starts in January 2027.  And, for a bit of a summary of the summer, we did have swimmers out to four meets in our Region of Vancouver Island, and at Regional Finals, Coach Sidney and I brought home some medals and ribbons for our swims.

We also covered 16 hours of volunteer shifts during the three-day meet. It was noted and appreciated by the Regional board that we, a very small club, did more than most clubs cover to keep the meet going. We covered four shifts of deck food prep and delivery, one shift of timing, and one shift of crash desk running – this is where you get the race result sheets from the crash desk, and post them for all swimmers to see.

In between that, we were in the water doing our races. Coach Sidney swam four races (100 Fly, 100 Free, 100 IM and 50 Fly), and I swam one (100 Backstroke). As we both made finals in all our races, there were Otters in the water 10 times that weekend.

So, we Otters were a presence at Regional finals, and had great results, with one silver, two bronze and fourth- and fifth-place ribbons for our efforts. Lastly, I have just heard from the BCSSA office that the venue for Provincials next year has finally been decided on, and it will be at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre in mid- August.

This will be great for a much closer chance to see some exciting swim racing (also Diving, Synchro-swimming and water-polo). Maybe even have an Otter or two qualify to swim Provincials. We hope to see lots of returning and new swimmers joining us for the Fall session at the pool.

Helen Lemon-Moore, President
penderottersswimclub@gmail.com
penderislandotters.ca

Pender Otters 2027 Swim Meet Schedule

• May 29-30: Cowichan Valley Breakers
• June 12-13: Comox Valley Blue Devils
• June 19-20: Oak Bay Orcas
• July 2-4: Nanaimo White Rapids
• July 10-11: Campbell River Salmon Kings
• July 17-18: Sidney Piranhas
• July 24-25: Salt Spring Stingrays
• August 6-8: VI Regionals at Saanich Commonwealth
• August 16-22: Provincials in Nanaimo (with speed swimming running from August 19-22)